Tales of the Transformers-Volume 1: The Battle Begins
by J0hn D33r3
Summary: Among the innumerable forms of life which inhabit the cosmos, the Transformers stand out. The war between Autobot and Decepticon has raged for four million years across the galaxy, and a new battlefront is soon to be opened-Earth. Follow the adventures of the epic battle between Optimus Prime and the Autobots versus Megatron and the Decepticons in TALES OF THE TRANSFORMERS!
1. Fall of Cybertron-Part 1

**Across the infinite reach of the cosmos, life abounds. However, one form of life is unique among the trillions of species across the universe. Orbiting the Star Alpha Centauri is a machine world, made entirely of metal. No rock or sand or soil contributes to its bizarre geography. This planet is called Cybertron, and it is inhabited by a race of sentient robotic life-forms known by others across space as the Transformers, capable of changing their bodies into any shape imaginable. Once, Cybertron was a paradise, but then came the war, terrible war. A faction known as the Decepticons, lead by a robot named Megatron, rose up to overthrow the governing council of Cybertron, but a counter-revolution then began as Optimus Prime and the Autobots struck back. Now the Autobots and Decepticons wage war on Cybertron and thousands of worlds across space and Megatron prepares to enact his endgame to defeat Optimus Prime and conquer Cybertron...**

* * *

A great battle was raging on the planet of Xerxes-Sigma. An Autobot Garrison under City Commander Roller had been attacked by a wave of Decepticon infantry forces with air support. The City Commander was monitoring the situation from the base's war room with his top officers. "They came out of nowhere, Sir. We don't know how long we can hold out against a force that large." An earthy green Autobot with large armor plates, deep-treaded tires on his shoulders and thighs, and a missile cannon on his right shoulder informed his commander of the developing situation.  
"Thank you, Hound. Get me Ironhide!" Roller responded. A radio operator patched Roller into the radio channels. Out on the battlefield, Sergeant Ironhide was revving on all cylinders, firing his twin shotguns, built in grenade cannons and machine guns. Each pull of the trigger sent a burst of laser blasts slamming into a Decepticon Vehicon trooper, dying before their corpse could hit the ground, then his communicator blinked, indicating a transmission coming through.

"Yes sir?" Ironhide put the transmission through.

"Ironhide, how much time can you buy? The Decepticons are too many." Roller briefed Ironhide of the situation.

"I don't know. If each of my troops can buy you five minutes...then we can still hold out for about and hour, sir." Ironhide responded to his commander.

"What? How many casualties has your unit sustained?" Roller inquired of the Sergeant.

"The 'Cons first wave took out about half our strength. All our field officers and SNCOS are dead or on the way out, save yours truly. I've got one platoon, and thankfully it's the cream of my company's crop." Replied Ironhide and Roller signed off. He then turned to a trench where Big Shot, Flak, Sidetrack, Sunrunner, Scoop, Quickmix, Landfill, Tracks, Smokescreen, Cliffjumper, Pipes, Huffer, Gears, and Inferno stood. "Alright men, we have to buy enough time for Roller and the others to raise the base's defense _**CHARGE!**_ " Ironhide roared, and the Autobots climbed over the top and followed their sergeant into battle. Scoop smashed a Decepticon's head in with his pickax, Flak fired a salvo of unguided rockets which blew a tank Vehicon to pieces, Sunrunner took off and transformed into his attack gunship mode to strafe Decepticons on the ground and Inferno sparked his torch and incinerated multiple Vehicons into a puddle of slag. At the base, Roller and his Autobot forces were loading up several ships with their supplies, preparing to leave, but soon enough the ships were loaded and Roller was aboard his own ship.

"Lift off." Roller said, and the three ships lifted off. Meanwhile, above the planet, several Decepticon cruisers hovered ominously. One was commanded by a caped Decepticon, cloaked in wings and two blasters on his arms, wearing blue, silver, and crimson armor and his chest like a cockpit of a jet fighter. Starscream, Decepticon Air Commander, was flanked by two others like him, one black, sliver, and purple, and another blue, red, and grey, their names Skywarp and Thundercracker.  
"Skywarp, status report." The air commander purred, greasily.

"The Autobots are mounting a last-ditch defense to allow their comrades to escape the planet." Skywarp answered Starscream. Starscream grinned at the opportunity. He had made a reputation for himself as a feared warrior of the skies, raining terror upon Autobots.  
"Skywarp, Thundercracker, to me." Starscream ordered, and his wingmen followed Starscream to the flight deck of the cruiser, where they leaped into the air and changed into their jet fighter modes, followed by dozens more like them, and flew down to the planet's surface to join the battle. Down on the battlefield, Ironhide lead his forces and put up a valiant defense against the Decepticons. Ironhide heard a cry.

"Help! Help!" He turned and his optics widened. A little yellow bot with black stripes lay wounded with a massive gash in his chest and hemorrhaging energon.

"Sarge, don't let me die! Don't let me die!" he cried. Ironhide sprinted to the aid of the young Autobot and began to try and heal him.

"Don't worry, Bumblebee. I've got you." Ironhide told him.

"I don't think I'm gonna make it!" Bumblebee cried.

"I don't think you're going to make it, I know you're going to make it."Ironhide said after he field dressed Bumblebee's wound "Come on, soldier, let's get you out of here." He then helped the little Autobot to safety. Another transmission came through for Ironhide.

"Ironhide, we're airborne. Pull your forces out and we'll be en route to pick you and whoever else you have left." Roller informed Ironhide.

"Roger that, Sir. We're on our way." Ironhide replied, and he then contacted his forces. "Everybody, let's get out of here. Commander and his guys are on the way to pick us up. Roll out!" The Autobot foot soldiers got their sergeant's message and they disengaged from the battle and drove to catch up to Ironhide. The sergeant changed to his armored truck mode and Bumblebee clung on to his roof. Overhead, Roller and his ships arrived, the command ship touching down as Ironhide and the Autobots drove aboard with all deliberate haste. Bumblebee was placed in the ship's medical suite and once all of the troops were aboard, the ship's pilots heaved the ship off the ground and took off, its jet boosters flaring as two smaller escort ships followed behind, but the Autobots were not yet out of danger as Starscream and the Seekers closed in for the kill.

"Commander, I have a visual!" Thundercracker called.

"Attack formation!" Starscream shrieked as the seekers screamed in abreast of one another with their machine guns blazing. The three Autobot shuttles were slammed by the relentless attack from Starscream and the seekers. The two smaller escort ships fought off the seekers, each being swarmed by seekers.

"We're going down! Repeat, we're going down!" Shouted an Autobot over the radio as his ship was in flames and plummeting down into the atmosphere.

"One down, two to go!" Starscream chuckled, sadistically. His targeting computer locked onto Roller's ship.

"Sir, I'm picking up a lock on us!" Hound exclaimed to Roller. The Autobots prepared for the worst as Bumblebee heard this.

"We're going to make it, Bumblebee, I swear!" Ironhide said as held Bumblebee's hand, firmly. Suddenly, a voice came over the radio.

"Roller, get clear, we'll draw Starscream's fire!" It was one of his senior officers, Shackle. He took control of his shuttle and heaved it around on a heading with Roller's ship .

"Shackle, what are you doing?" Roller shouted at him.

"It's been an honor serving with you Roller, now get clear and make the jump to hyperspace!" Shackle said, and Starscream launched a missile and it streaked toward Roller's ship. Shackle placed his shuttle between Starscream and Roller, and instead of taking out Roller, Shackle and all of his crew's sparks were extinguished when the missile blasted the ship into thousands of fragments.

"Punch it!" Roller roared, and Hound threw a switch which catapulted the ship beyond the speed of light and out of the Xerxes-Sigma system to their home planet, Cybertron. Starscream changed back to his robot form and watched as the Autobots slipped into hyperspace and scowled. The Autobots all breathed a collective sigh of relief, but their escaped came at a great cost. After some time, they arrived on Cybertron at the spaceport in the Autobot held capital of Iacon. There, a massive, red, blue, and grey Autobot with broad shoulders and huge muscles was flanked by a heavily armored light blue, white, and brick red Autobot with large, blocky shoulders and another, smaller, black and white one with a red crest on his forehead stood to greet them. Roller, Ironhide, and the surviving Autobots disembarked off their ship with the wounded to be greeted by the supreme Autobot commander, Optimus Prime, and his two lieutenants, Ultra Magnus and Prowl.

"Ironhide. It is good to see you, old friend." Optimus said, calmly.

"It's even better to see you. We've got casualties aboard, have a medic ready." Ironhide told Optimus. The Prime then spoke into his communicator.

"Ratchet, a ship of Autobots has arrived and they have sustained casualties. Prepare your medical bay to treat their injuries."

"Right away, Optimus." Ratchet replied. The Autobots drove in to Autobase Iacon, the military headquarters of the Autobots and the Elite Guard. Here was the command center for all Autobot operations across the galaxy. In the medical bay, Bumblebee was recovering from his wounds he sustained on Xerxes-Sigma.

"Don't scare me like that again, little fella." Ironhide chuckled.

"You're telling me. Five cycles out of Scout School and I'm already staring death in the optics on an alien planet. Some war this has turned out to be." Bumblebee said as he sat up and rotated his arm around.

"Easy does it, Bumblebee. Your wounds will take some time to heal." Ratchet advised. Ratchet was an emergency red and white Autobot with a red helme and a white crest like Prowl's. He was the Autobot Surgeon-General, and oversaw all Autobot medical affairs. Up in the command center, Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Prowl, Jetfire, Ironhide, Roller, Hound, and others were gathered around a hologram table.

"The Decepticon counteroffensive is stretching our forces to their limits." Ultra Magnus explained. "But that seems as though it's their intention, to weaken us."

"For what?" Roller wondered. The projector then showed purple arrows pointing at Cybertron.

"A full scale Decepticon invasion." Ultra Magnus answered, grimly. With his authority second only to Optimus', Ultra Magnus was well respected among his comrades. His judgement was keen and his strategic mind had been key to the Autobots' campaigns across space in the Autobots' war against the Decepticons.

"Then we must close all other fronts and amass our troops here on Cyberton. I have given this much thought and found it to be the only course of action to ensure victory over Megatron. Though our gains throughout space have been noteworthy, it hasn't been until now that the Decepticons have struck back with such ambition. I will give the order to our fellow Autobots to return to Cybertron immediately." Optimus Prime declared. Outside, a birdlike robot stood perched on a rooftop. Using his cameras, he was able to record video and audio of the briefing between Optimus and his senior commanders. He had gathered the information he sought, and jetted off to the west and arrived in Kaon, the Decepticon capital, to a looming fortress shapes like a purple emblem-Castle Darkmount. There, sat the Decepticons' supreme leader Megatron atop his throne. He was a tall and heavily built 'bot who had grey and dark red armor, with tank treads on his shoulders and legs and a massive fusion cannon mounted on his right arm. Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp arrived to report to their leader.

"Starscream, congratulations on your retaking of Xerxes-Sigma from the Autobots." Megatron said in an oily voice. Starscream knelt before his leader and replied,

"You have my undying thanks, Lord Megatron, but..."

"But what, Starscream?" Megatron grumbled. It did not take much to change Megatron's mood from one of happiness to fury.

"The Autobots and their city commander for their garrison escaped the planet. To my knowledge, they were the only Autobots to make it off of the planet." Starscream added. Megatron scowled, indifferently.

"Given your record of successes over the past few cycles, I will grant you a reprieve. Such a small number of Autobots escaping our grasp is a minimal, if not insignificant loss in what otherwise is a decisive Decepticon victory, but such failures come at a cost to our cause, Starscream. Fail me again like that, and you will be counting your screws as I tear them out, one by one!" Megatron growled, angrily.

"I-I understand, Lord Megatron." Starscream stuttered as he rose to his feet, then a blue, white, and yellow 'bot walked in, he had a single, red visor and a clear panel in his chest. His name was Soundwave.

"Lord Megatron, Laserbeak has returned." Soundwave said in his synthesized voice. A red, and black bird glided in and perched himself on Soundwave's arm.

"Laserbeak, report." The birdlike Decepticon projected from his eyes the footage he had gathered while scouting out Autobase Iacon. Megatron studied it intently.

"So it seems the Autobots have discovered our pan to culminate our counteroffensive in the invasion of Cybertron." Megatron said. "I look forward to this..." He grinned menacingly. Megatron had planted the seeds which would soon lead to a harvest in the destruction of the Autobots once and for all...


	2. Fall of Cybertron-Part 2

**The war between Autobots and Decepticons has reached a tipping point. The Decepticons have launched a brutal counteroffensive across the galaxy. While many Autobot commanders hold their ground on strategic worlds wrested from the Decepticons, Optimus Prime, Autobot supreme leader, has sent an order to across the galaxy for all Autobots to retreat and return to Cybertron in preparation to fight off a massive planet-wide Decepticon invasion, but Megatron and the Decepticons are making preparations of their own to see their endgame through in his quest to destroy the Autobots, but little do they know, Optimus Prime has a contingency should the defense of their homeworld falter...**

Optimus Prime signed onto the subspace communicator, tuned to an emergency encrypted frequency. "Autobots, this is Optimus Prime. As you may already know, the galaxy-wide Decepticon counteroffensive has begun to take its toll and we are stretched to our limits. Megatron's endgame is to divide and conquer us in a colossal invasion of Cybertron. Our only chance to stem the tide is that I must order you to retreat and return to Cybertron with all deliberate haste. The invasion could come at any time, and I urge you to join me in the defense of our homeworld and vanquish the menace which is the Decepticons. This is Optimus Prime, signing off, till all are one." He then signed off the communicator, realizing the immense burden of his decision. The Autobots had fought to conquer and reclaim thousands of worlds across the galaxy, and now that the Decepticons were striking back, he had no other option but to abandon their hard earned spoils of war on battlefronts across the cosmos in the hope of being able to defend Cybertron from Megatron's invasion. Across the galaxy, Autobot commanders received Optimus' transmission and followed his orders to retreat. Across space, Autobot commanders began to pull back their forces from occupied worlds and withdrew their campaigns on contested planets. Megatron monitored the situation from Darkmount.

"Autobot forces are in full retreat across the galaxy, Lord Megatron. Commanders across the galaxy have been reporting that Autobot opposition has been withdrawing and retreating from thousands of planets across the galaxy." Soundwave reported as he projected a star chart of the galaxy showing red arrows pointing away from Decepticon space.

"Excellent, Soundwave. All is going as I have planned. We will not only wholly conquer Cybertron, but we will ensure the destruction of the Autobots now that Optimus Prime has ordered his forces back to Cybertron." Megatron schemed. This was Megatron at his finest. Before he became the feared warlord Cyberton knew him to be, Megatron was a mine laborer turned gladiator and then radical revolutionary. He understood that war, politics, economics, and culture, such complex and infinitely layered ideas and concepts, were all connected by one simple thread-cause and effect. One action begets an equal and opposing reaction. Megatron had been waiting millions of years to enact his endgame and cement his dominance over the Cybertronian race, and was poised to claim the destiny he had fought for. Meanwhile, in Iacon, Optimus was personally overseeing the efforts to coordinate the organization of Autobots returning from across space. Many commanders disagreed with Optimus over his decision to pull out and regroup on Cybertron, but despite all of this, Optimus held firm to uphold his decision. As he was speaking with some Autobot soldiers, a jet bomber flew in and changed into an Autobot officer.

"Optimus Prime!" Optimus turned and standing before him was an old friend.

"Jetfire, it's good to see you once again." Optimus greeted him warmly as the two friends shook hands. Jetfire was a tall, slender 'bot, built much like Starscream, but he was white, grey and red and had a gold face mask below his yellow eyes. His cape was made of triangular delta wings with slats and fins on the ends of them to allow him greater agility in jet mode. Jetfire held the rank of Captain and was in command of a strategic bombardment group which had just returned from a campaign against Decepticon Energon refineries in the Yxarion system in support of that system's liberation.

"It's good to be back planetside, Prime. I think you made the right move calling us back to Cybertron. Megatron's going for broke and we need everyone here." Agreed Jetfire, then Prowl screeched to a stop and transformed out of his car mode.

"Optimus, we need you at Autobase, there's some commanders that need you to brief them for our defense." The Autobot Military Policeman told him.

"Mind if I tag along?" Jetfire inquired.

"Please." Optimus answered his comrade, Optimus changed into his truck mode, then Jetfire leaped into the air and changed into his jet bomber mode, then took flight as he followed Optimus and Prowl to the courtyard. There, some of the hundreds of high ranking Autobot officers and their compliments who had returned from distant battlefields across the galaxy were gathered to discuss the Autobots' plan to defend Cybertron from the Decepticon invasion. Optimus, Ultra Magnus, Prowl, and Jetfire stood in front of a great crowd as more ships began landing in Iacon. "My fellow Autobots, I am pleased to see you and your units back on Cybertron and out of harm's way. My decision to issue to the order to retreat and regroup was a decision I did not take lightly. On behalf of all Cybertronians, I thank you for the sacrifices made by you and your subordinates both on Cybertron and across the stars in the struggle to restore peace and order to our homeworld, but do not lose sight of what we are fighting for, the war is not yet won. Megatron has begun to enact his endgame, and the Decepticons' counteroffensive across the galaxy has stretched our forces thin and now we can only assume that they are preparing a final, massive assault on Cybertron, thus leading me to give the order. Our objective is simple-we must stem the tide of the coming invasion. Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost, and this war will not end until the last Autobot spark is extinguished from the face of the galaxy. It is regretfully inevitable that not all of you will survive the battle to come, but should victory be ours, your sacrifices will not be in vain, and because of your extraordinary courage and valor, Cybertron will live on as a world ridden of the tyranny and oppression of the Decepticons. I, Optimus Prime, swear this on the names of the Primes who preceded me. Till all are one!" Optimus spoke to the crowd. A hush came over the crowd until voices echoed,

"Till all are one."

"That's crazy!"

"It'll be a massacre!"

"What chance do we have?!" Autobots shouted in disagreement. They knew firsthand the power possessed by the Decepticons during their counteroffensive, and now that all of it would be focused on Cybertron, it stood to reason that the Autobots stood no chance.

" **SILENCE!** " Ultra Magnus roared as he slammed the pommel of his hammer on the ground to restore order to the yard. Optimus paced about in front as he responded to their criticism.

"I also predicted such a plan would spark controversy, and as such, I have commissioned a project which has been kept top secret until now. Wheeljack, the architect of this project, will explain." Optimus said, and a white, green, and red Autobot stepped forward and deployed a small screen over his left eye and from it came a projection of a large, orange starship.

"My friends, this is the Ark. Right now, it's ready to go if we need it. I can't believe we were able to build it that quickly with all of that faulty hardware we got from the spaceport." Wheeljack spoke to the crowd. "I designed to carry a skeleton crew of Autobots into deep space in search of a suitable planet we can regroup our forces from to counter-invade Cybertron should we lose in this battle."

"Which we will!" An Autobot named Huffer called out, pessimistically.

"Anyway" Continued Wheeljack. We need a crew, any volunteers?" From the crowd, Bumblebee raised his hand.

"I will!" He called. Following him was a red and black 'bot with a horned helmet named Cliffjumper,, who looked a little bit like Bumblebee.

"So will I!" added Cliffjumper.

"Me too!" Ironhide expressed. Several more Autobots decided to join as well, including Prowl, Smokescreen, Jazz, Skids, Jetfire, Hound, Inferno, and Huffer.

"I will lead this mission, and should we commence this endeavor I will relinquish command of all Cybertron-based Autobots to my lieutenant and close friend, Ultra Magnus." Optimus added after the Autobots had volunteered to risk all to save their race.

"You're going to need a medic. Who knows what could happen to us out there?" Ratchet chimed in.

"I'm coming, too. No one knows the Ark like I do." Wheeljack said to Optimus. A feminine voice then spoke up.

"You're going to need a navigator, too." The crowd looked and there was the famed Arcee, the first fembot to join the Autobot infantry pathfinders. She was a natural navigator and star chart reader

"Welcome aboard, Arcee. Like how it looks?" Wheeljack blushed. He had jut laid eyes on her and felt something inside him. The Autobots now had hope for their survival, but that hope was to be short lived. Meanwhile, Megatron and his forces were gathering on Cybertron's two moons, Luna 1 and Luna 2. Hordes of Vehicon troopers were being assembled into formations nearly a mile square. Huge stores of Energon were stockpiled for fuel and ammunition. Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, and several generals were assembled in a tent including Onslaught, Bludgeon, Tidal Wave, and Thunderwing.

"Our troops are being assembled as we speak, Lord Megatron." Onslaught reported to Megatron.

"Excellent. Starscream, is your armada ready?" Megatron inquired of his air commander.

"The armada awaits your command, My Liege." Starscream answered. Megatron crossed his arms behind his back and grinned.

"Then all is in readiness. Begin the attack." Megatron told them. The Decepticons loaded onto troop transports and a massive fleet of Decepticon ships drifted towards Cybertron. Megatron watched this and then jumped into the air and flew using his rocket boots, followed by Soundwave, who tansformed into an electronic warfare aircraft. The two streaked to the front of the formation of starships and landed on the flight deck of Megatron's flagship, the Nemesis, where they would monitor the situation. In Iacon, Ultra Magnus looked into his targeting scope and his spark began to flare.  
"It's here."

"What is it, Ultra Magnus?" asked Prowl.

"The Decepticon invasion! It's here! Come on, let's raise the alarm!" Ultra Magnus barked.

"Right away!" Prowl replied and they shifted to vehicle mode, then drove to raise the alarm, but Optimus was already on top of the situation gearing up for battle.

"Prowl, Ultra Magnus, the invasion has come. Get the troops ready." Optimus urged.

"We're on top of it." Ultra Magnus said and he radioed Flak. "Flak, raise our anti-air defenses!"

"Right O, Magnus!" Flak replied. He turned to some Autobots manning anti aircraft batteries. "Vector 5-19-Delta-light'em up, gents!" The antiaircraft guns then spewed volleys of laser fire skyward, explosions bursting as Starscream and his seekers eloquently dodged the Autobots' fire. Back on the ground, Optimus, Ultra Magnus, Jetfire, Prowl, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Hound, Roller, Skids, Jazz, and many more took up positions outside of Iacon to face the Decepticons. Troop transports set down and Vehicons poured from their holds and charged toward Iacon and Autobase.

"Autobots, CHARGE!" Bellowed Optimus, and he lead a valiant charge in reply to the Decepticon advance as a bloody battle began. Warriors on both sides locked in savage combat. Red and purple streaks of laser blasts danced across the horizon as both sides battled. Optimus drew off of his back a sword and a battleaxe and crashed through the Decepticons. Each swing of his blades separated heads from bodies and arms from torsos and reflected laser blasts back at those who fired at him, and yet through the chaos, Optimus was calm and focus. Above the battlefield, Jetfire and squadrons of Autobot fighters did battle against Starscream and the Seekers.

"Jetfire! You could have been one of us!" Starscream shouted as he changed into his robot mode and hovered with his rocket boots. "You could have achieved greatness!"

"No thanks, I've got all the greatness I need as an Autobot!" Jetfire retorted, and the two blasted one another with their arm mounted blasters until Starscream was thrown back and he was able to stop himself, then he jetted forward and they grappled with one another in the air Close by, Ultra Magnus, slammed his hammer into the ground, knocking dozens of Vehicons off their feet, then a string of cluster bombs from Jetfire's bomb bays blew them to pieces. Bumblebee fired plasma bolts from his wrist mounted blasters while Jazz, a Cyber-Ninja leapt lightly on his feet as he whisked his hands launching throwing stars which sliced into one Vehicon after another, some passing straight through multiple targets at a time,

"Slicin' and dicin'!" Jazz grinned as his Decepticon foes fell to the ground "Try and keep up, Bumblebee!" Bumblebee caught back up to him

"Believe me, I'm trying!" The scout panted and without even looking he raised his hand and fired a volley of bolts straight into a Vehicon. A troop transport, Onslaught, Bludgeon, Thunderwing, and Tidal Wave marched onto the battlefield.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't ol' _Off_ slaught!" Jazz said as he then reached for his twin swords.

"Give up Autobots, our advantage is twofold in strength and numbers!" Onslaught announced, haughtily.

"Then you're twice as likely to lose!" Bumblebee retorted as he caught his breath. Onslaught pumped his shotgun and fired an explosive slug, but the two Autobots were too quick and the round burst between them as they leaped and dodged the Decepticon general's blasts. Jazz attacked Bludgeon and the two clashed swords.

"Too slow, bone head!" Jazz chuckled as he forced Bludgeon back. Both fighters were masters of the ancient and mysterious art of Metalliko, one of the earliest perfected fighting styles, but Jazz was smaller and quicker than his opponent, a trait he used to its fullest extent as he clanged his swords against Bludgeon's

"You will be the slowest of us, since the dead are totally immobile!" Bludgeon said, then Bumblebee blasted him with a salvo from his bolt stingers.

"Nice work, short stack!" Jazz said. Back aboard the Nemesis, Megatron and Soundwave monitored the situation.

"Lord Megatron, the Autobots' defense is stronger than we anticipated. I'm getting reports of our forces retreating all across the planet." Onslaught called as he drove his bayonet into an Autobot's chest and fired a slug to finish the job. Megatron received his transmission.

"Soundwave and I are on our way." Megatron said. "Such weaklings!" He scowled as he and Soundwave made their way to the hangar bay and changed to their vehicle modes, where they then streaked down to Cybertron's surface. Down below, the battle was slowly tipping in the Autobots' favor.

"We're winning!" Ultra Magnus cried.

"See to it our luck doesn't change, Ultra Magnus!" Optimus called to his lieutenant, but two flashes appeared in the sky as the Autobots looked up, and with a thunderous roar, Megatron swooped in at twenty times the speed of sound and changed to his robot mode and landed on his feet with a thud. He was an imposing sight which sent many Autobots running for safety, but Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Ironhide, and Prowl stood their ground.

"Optimus Prime. It's been some time since we've last met." Megatron purred.

"Megatron, your invasion is failing, and you will be defeated and tried for your crimes against Cybertron." Optimus replied, defiantly. Megatron began to chuckle, then it became a cackle until a hilt launched from his wrist and a grey center with purple cutting edges extended outward. Optimus extended his sword and battleaxe, Ultra Magnus brandished his hammer, Ironhide activated his shoulder mounted cannons and arm mounted machine guns, and Prowl's gauntlet expanded into shield and a stun-baton. Optimus nodded to Ultra Magnus, and the two fought the Decepticon leader together. Optimus and Megatron's blades clashed and clanged as the two most powerful robots on Cybertron battled in a fierce sword duel. Optimus forced Megatron back, but his foe was not beaten so easily. He raised his arm and fired his arm mounted fusion cannon, which sent a huge, purple fireball hurdling toward Optimus, but he changed to his truck mode and raced toward Megatron, swerving left and right as he dodged the Decepticon leader's blasts. Close by, Prowl and Ironhide fought Soundwave. The Decepticon intelligence chief was not phased as Ironhide fired his shotguns and Prowl his twin pistols until finally a panel in his chest opened and out of it six boxes came. They were Soundwave's scouting force, who transformed into stereo speakers, two small humanoid robots, two birds, a jaguar, and a bat all transformed from these shapes.

"Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ratbat-attack!" Soundwave commanded his scouts. Rumble and Frenzy were all to happy to oblige as they activated their pile drivers.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Rumble boasted as he slammed the ground, making Prowl wobble.  
"But beware the ones that get back up!" Ironhide interjected as he punted Rumble away and helped Prowl back to his feet. Optimus and Megatron still battled against one another.

"Did you really think you could stop me, Optimus Prime? Did you?! My Decepticon army is so vast, whole divisions are sent simply to deplete your ammunition stores!" Megatron bragged as he and Optimus grappled fiercely with one another.

"True that may be, Megatron, but the Autobots possess something you and any like you never will!" Optimus said courageously as he punched Megatron in the shoulder, uppercut him to the chin, then roundhouse kicked him back and sent the Decepticon leader flying into the ground. Optimus then brandished his blaster rifle and blasted Megatron's fusion cannon, which crackled and sparked with energy, giving Megatron an idea.

"What would that be, Prime?" Megatron asked as Optimus then turned and aimed at Megatron.

"Resillience." Optimus answered, stoically, and just as he was about to fire, Megatron threw his damaged fusion cannon at Optimus and it exploded only a few feet from him in a huge fireball, giving Megatron enough time to recover.

"DECEPTICONS, ADVANCE!" He roared.

"OPTIMUS!" Ultra Magnus shouted as he saw Optimus laying on the ground, bruised and battered. "Come on, we're getting out of here!" He turned his wrist communicator on and called the Autobots. "Autobots, retreat back to Autobase. Wheeljack, that Ark sounds like a good idea right now!"

"Way ahead of you, Magnus!" Wheeljack replied. "Ratchet, launch sequence!" Wheeljack called. Ratchet spun around in his chair and frantically tapped away on keypads to start the Ark's launch sequence until finally the thrusters roared to life, filling the massive construction bay in the Iacon spaceport built specifically for its construction with dust and smoke. "Lift off!" Wheeljack said, and with the control sticks the colossal craft heaved into the air for the first time. Back on the battlefield, a medic was administering aid to Optimus, who was already recovering from his wounds.

"Ultra Magnus, the time has come. I leave you with command of all Autobots on Cybertron, effective immediately." Optimus grunted as Ultra Magnus helped him back up.  
"I won't let you down." Ultra Magnus replied, solemnly. "I swear it." Just then, the Ark flew in and hovered. Optimus' crew all got aboard as quickly as he could as their captain valiantly fought on to cover their boarding. Once all were aboard, Optimus boarded the massive craft and joined Prowl, Jetfire, and Ironhide on the bridge. Megatron watched all of this and was blistering with rage.  
"Lord Megatron, the Autobots are escaping on that starship!" Onslaught told him as he ran up to him. Megatron turned around and said nothing, then with all of his power he punched Onslaught in the stomach hard enough to make him cough energon as it dripped from under his mouthplate.

"Starscream! Prepare the Nemesis for my arrival. Optimus Prime must not escape!" Megatron thundered as he radioed Starscream.  
"Yes, Lord Megatron, right away." Starscream replied. He then contacted another Decepticon. A hologram of a 'bot with one yellow eye and two spikes sticking off of his head appeared. He was purple and had one hand, the other was a cannon in place of it.  
"What do you command, Lord Megatron?" He asked.  
"Shockwave, you will command all Decepticons on Cybertron. Optimus Prime and a crew of Autobots are getting away and I must pursue them." Megatron explained t the cycloptic Decepticon.  
"Yes, Lord Megatron. I will command the Decepticons of Cybertron to my utmost!" Shockwave answered. Optimus and the Autobots then hurled skyward, and before the Ark left Cybertron, Optimus signed on to the subspace communicator.

"Autobots, this is Optimus Prime. The Ark is well on its way out of Cybertron's atmosphere, but before we make our departure, I leave you with this wisdom; Do not lose hope, we will win this war not by destroying that which we hate, but by protecting everything we as Autobots hold dear. Keep the spark of our cause, of your cause, burning brightly. Til all are one."

"Til all are one." Ultra Magnus echoed, softly as he watched the streak of light that was the Ark shooting towards the setting sun, then it became nothing in the blink of an eye as the Ark jumped into hyperspace. Meanwhile, Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp watched.

"Lord Megatron, there is some good news in this situation. We can follow the Ark's particle trail to see where they are going." Starscream told his master.

"At least someone under my command seems to have a brain module in their head!" Megatron grumbled, angrily. "Blackout, follow the Autobots' particle trail and prepare for the jump to hyperspace."  
"Yes, Lord Megatron." A beige, grey, and black Decepticon who appeared to change into a helicopter then aligned the Nemesis to jump into hyperspace, and the chase was on...

In the depths of Darkmount, Shockwave spoke with one of his lieutenants, Straxus.

"Straxus, do you know why I called you here?" He asked Straxus.

"No, Commander." Straxus answered.

"Then allow me to show you." Shockwave said as he projected a sheet of blueprints from his eye. The plans were for a massive Decepticon which was a direct copy of Megatron. "This, Straxus, is what I would like to call Project: Archforce; the ultimate Decepticon warrior, built from Megatron's schematics, unchallenged in strength, firepower, and intelligence, and he will be completely loyal to me."

"Why you?" Straxus inquired.

"Megatron is a weak, deluded fool. His emotions cloud his judgement. Our plan to conquer Cybertron was my design; I handed Megatron our victory, but he abandoned us in the Decepticons' hour of triumph on a fool's quest. I have decided to take matters into my own hands." Shockwave answered, coldly. Shockwave was a 'bot who expressed no emotion and was only driven by logic. He knew in his mind that what he was doing was the right thing for the Decepticons...


	3. Earthfall

**Optimus Prime and a crew of Autobots aboard their starship known as the Ark are now on a journey to find a suitable world to rebuild the Autobots' strength and eventually recapture Cybertron from the Decepticons, but Megatron is in hot pursuit of Optimus and his crew with his personal flagship-the Nemesis...**

* * *

The Ark jetted through hyperspace on Optimus Prime's mission to find a planet suitable for the Autobots to rebuild their strength. "Runs like a dream, wouldn't you say, Arcee?" Wheeljack said. Arcee briefly looked up from the hologram table monitoring the Ark's course and then resumed her duties."Hard to get." Wheeljack chortled to himself.

"That had to have been the luckiest escape I've ever been." Prowl remarked to Optimus as he sat in his captain's chair.

"There is no such thing as luck, Prowl. Everything happens for a reason, and there is a reason why we escaped Cybertron." Optimus replied. Prowl didn't quite know what to think of Optimus' response to this. He was simply thinking aloud when Optimus added his thoughts on the matter, but all that mattered was the Autobots were on their mission and nothing was standing in their way, or at least, not yet. Meanwhile, Megatron and his crew were in hot pursuit of the Ark, following its particle trail. While Starscream directed the pursuit on the bridge, Megatron was being fitted with one of his spares from the ship's arsenal.

"There, Lord Megatron. You look as powerful as ever!" Knockout, the ship's engineer and medical officer marveled. Megatron was indeed pleased with this as well. Now that his new fusion cannon was affixed, he called up to the bridge.

"Starscream, do you have the Autobots' ship on your scanners?" He asked Starscream.

"Negative, Lord Megatron, Optimus Prime's ship is not on the scanners, but Soundwave has picked up an Autobot energy signature registering on a group of smaller craft in sector 3." Starscream informed Megatron. The Decepticon leader smiled, darkly. Perhaps the Autobots aboard the ships detected by Soundwave would have some knowledge of Optimus Prime's whereabouts. With his course of action set, Megatron went to the bridge to make his next move. By now, the ships could be viewed with an unassisted optic. One destroyer-sized ship and a supply ship were being escorted by three corvettes, and they were on their way back to Cybertron from wherever they were deployed. Aboard the destroyer, an Autobot exclaimed,

"Captain, a Decepticon ship moving into attack!" The Captain squinted through the window of the ship and was horrified.

"That's the Nemesis, Megatron's flagship! Tighten formation! Nyon, Protihex, Decimus, engage; attack pattern Alpha!" the Captain of the destroyer barked. The three corvettes swung into action and arranged themselves into a spearhead, where they then fired their forward cannons and launched torpedoes at the Nemesis.

"Lord Megatron, three Autobot ships are closing in at point 4!" Blackout called. Megatron turned to Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Slipstream and Dreadwing.

"Starscream, you know what to do." Megatron murmured.

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Starscream said obediently, and they sprinted to the hangar bay where they were joined by a squadron of jet vehicons. The Decepticons swooped in abreast of one another and unleashed a torrent of machine gun fire upon the lead corvette. Aboard it, an Autobot called to the ship's skipper,  
"We're taking heavy damage, shields and weapons are offline! If we take one more hit we'll-" The ship's main reactor then exploded, tearing it apart and killing all aboard.  
"One down, three to go!" Slipstream said.  
"Don't get cocky, Slipstream!" Starscream rebutted "And leave some Autobots for the rest of us to blast!" Meanwhile, Skywarp activated his teleportation powers and disappeared. An Autobot gunner on one of the other ships then looked at his targeting scope.

"That's weird." He said to himself as he tried to re-calibrate it, but before he could Skywarp teleported aboard the ship right behind the unsuspecting Autobot and shot him in the back of the head at point-blank range. He then took control of the console, then rotated it and trained its guns to fire on the ship's thrusters. The laser blast blew the thruster pod clean off of the Autobot ship.  
"Time to finish the job!" Skywarp said as he teleported off of the ship, but then blasts plasma spewed from the Nemesis' batteries, finishing the Autobot corvette off. On the bridge, Megatron was watching the battle unfold.  
"Starcream, leave the command ship. I will join you in boarding it. I want to know if its compliment has any knowledge of Optimus Prime's course." Megatron called Starscream.

"Affirmative, Lord Megatron. We will clear a path for you." The air commander said. He then fired a missile, which streaked towards its target, the bridge of the third and final frigate and it struck true, blasting the bridge to pieces and killing everyone aboard, then it plunged out of control, then blasts from the Nemesis destroyed the ship. On the destroyer, the ship's helmsman reported to the captain,

"Sir, our escorts are gone!"

"Open fire with all weapons!" the captain replied, sternly. The ship's turrets trained on the Nemesis and fired. Megatron laughed as the blasts from the Autobot ship bounced off the nigh-impenetrable shields of the Nemesis.  
"Starscream, make preparations for my arrival. I will be joining you shortly." Megatron radioed Starscream. Starscream and the seekers flew in abreast of one another as he was the first to swoop into the hangar bay, mowing down the Autobots sent to repel the Decepticon assault in seconds with his null rays.

"All too easy." He said, patting off his shoulder. Skywarp, Thundercracker, Dreadwing, and Slipstream joined him as they continued to clear the hangar. Then, Megatron flew in with Soundwave at his side. The fearsome Decepticon leader changed from his jet mode to robot mode, putting Starscream's entrance to shame. Megatron then went on a killing spree throughout the corridors of the ship, blasting Autobots to pieces left and right with his fusion cannon, then bashing their heads in with his mace and impaling them with their swords, the rest of the Decepticons finishing them of. The captain of the ship and presumably the last survivors of the crew had sealed the blast doors. Soundwave knew the perfect solution.

"Laserbeak-eject. Operation; Can opener." Soundwave commanded, and with his words Laserbeak jumped from his chest compartment and transformed to his bird mode, then fired a focused beam of white-hot laser energy at the blast doors from his eyes at the blast doors. The Autobots on the other side of the door were getting worried.

"Don't panic...don't panic!" the captain said, trying to calm his men down, but the door exploded as one of the Autobots exclaimed,

"Megatron! Decepticons!"

"DIE, AUTOBOTS!" Megatron roared, then he changed into his self-propelled cannon mode and blew a hole through the Autobot's body and he disintegrated, prompting the Autobots to open fire, but the Decepticons replied with a blistering torrent of blaster fire, which killed everyone but the captain.  
"What do you want, Megatron?" The captain begged for his spark. Megatron then changed back to robot mode and menaced the captain of the ship.  
"Answers. Where is Optimus Prime?" Megatron growled as the Autobot captain cowered back and in his nervousness he activated the bridge's holgram table which projected Optimus Prime's message. Megatron studied the transmission for a few seconds until he turned to Soundwave. "Soundwave, triangulate the origin of the signal with our present course." He greased.  
"As you command, Lord Megatron." Soundwave answered, obediently, and set to work extrapolating the Ark's probable trajectory in space.

"Does this mean I get to live?" asked the Autobot captain, hopefully. Megatron was walking off of the bridge when he glanced over his shoulder and smirked.

"Of course not, I have no use for you any more, Captain." Megatron replied, then when he and his troops were clear, the Nemesis' weapons destroyed the remaining two Autobot ships entirely, and Megatron then assumed command of his flagship once more.  
"Set a new course, Blackout. Soundwave will assist you." Megatron told Blackout, and with that, the Nemesis jumped into hyperspace as the Decepticons continued hunting the Autobots. Meanwhile, the Ark continued on its path and all seemed to be going nicely. In the main hold of the ship, Jazz, Bumblebee, Skids, and Hound were playing a nice game of Praxus Holdem. Each player held their cards well out of one another's sight except Bumblebee, whose small size made it easy for Hound to glance over his shoulder to see his hand without him looking. Bumblebee twitched around out of Hound's sight, only for Skids to peer at the diminutive Autobot's hand of cards.  
"Stop it, cheaters!" Bumblebee squeaked, "It's not like any of you had a chance against me, anyway!" He then laid down an ace of swords and an ace of jets , then scooped all of the other players' energon chips which they wagered to him. Bumblebee was quite pleased with himself, then there was a loud "BOOM" and the Autobots were all knocked of their seats.  
"What's going on?" Skids exclaimed. He went to a porthole and saw that the ship had dropped out of hyperspace, then an asteroid flew past him. "We're going into an asteroid field!" On the bridge, Wheeljack and Smokescreen, who were piloting the ship, struggled to maintain control. They dropped the ship out of hyperspace just as they were about to enter an asteroid field.  
"Optimus, we're entering an asteroid field!" He called.  
"Divert power to the forward shields and charge the proton torpedoes!" Optimus said, urgently to Wheeljack.

"Way ahead of you!" Wheeljack replied as he wheeled around on his seat to the weapons console.

"I'll take control of the ship." Optimus said to Wheeljack. The Ark's creator activated its weapons and fired off a salvo of proton torpedoes at the oncoming space debris. The torpedoes hit their mark, blasting massive, miles-wide asteroids into tiny fragments, but there were too many and the Ark was running out of torpedoes. Wheljack tried to fire more torpedoes, but the screen flashed red, signifying the launcher magazine was empty.

"Scrap!" Wheeljack muttered. The Ark's shields were steadily weakening from the blistering assault of the asteroids until one massive chunk of debris slammed into the ship. Alarms began blaring on the bridge. "We've been hit!" Wheeljack exclaimed. More and more asteroids pummeled the Ark, sending pieces flying off of its hull, but the Autobots' luck began to turn around as they finally made it through the asteroid field and passed by a red planet. "Optimus, I don't know if we can land on the planet we're over now. There's no signs of life or any sources of Energon." Wheeljack said to Optimus.

"Keep going. Perhaps we can land on the next planet in this system." Optimus said as he relinquished the primary pilot's seat to Wheeljack. Just then, Bumblebee, Jazz, Skids, and Hound arrived on the bridge.

"What's going on?" asked Hound.

"You missed all the action, Hound! We went through an asteroid field and almost died. We're still going to die when we crash land on that planet." Huffer answered Hound. The planet the Autobots were approaching was blue, with seven shapes which appeared to be landmasses. White streaks appeared above them, clouds.

"Ah shut up, Huffer! If you don't have anything positive to say I suggest you keep your vocal processors off!" Cliffjumper snapped.

"Can it, you two, we've entered orbit!" Prowl said. Everything seemed to be going nicely, but then it all went wrong. The asteroid field had taken its toll on the Ark and suddenly, one of the thrusters exploded.

"We've lost one of the thrusters!" Wheeljack shouted as he thrashed the control yoke to keep control of the ship. Down below on the planet's surface, the life forms which inhabited the planet were going about their normal lives. They were small, organic creatures who ha developed civilizations and had rather primitive technology by Cybertronian standards. In the state of Missouri in the United States of America on the North American continent, a young, human male was at work on his family's farm. The young man was 12 years old and was light skinned with dark blonde hair, light-green eyes, and some freckles. He was slowly driving along plowing a field on his John Deere 6030 tractor when he was turning around at the end of a furrow and looked into the sky, where he saw a streak of light in the sky, but it then disappeared from sight and he went back to work. Little did he know, that streak of light was the Ark. Across the United States, news media chronicled the awe-inspiring fireball in the sky as it hurdled past Earth, until the Ark then crossed over Canada. It was there Wheeljack was able to regain control of the Ark, but then it snapped hard to right, sending the Ark right back over the America. He flipped a switch to engage the Ark's landing gear. The bay doors opened and the Ark's landing gear creaked as it extended out. The Ark was now only a mile from the planet's surface. "Maybe this vegetation could soften the impact." Wheeljack said, hopefully. Optimus placed his hands on Wheeljack and Smokescreen's shoulders as he said,

"Autobots, brace for impact!" With that, the Ark then bellied into a forest of pine trees. The impact knocked all of the Autobots unconscious and it seemed as though they were to rust away and never be heard from again...


	4. Autobot Awakening

**Optimus Prime and his Autobot crew aboard their starship Ark have set out on a treacherous voyage across the cosmos to find a suitable planet from which the Autobots can regroup their forces in an effort to retake their home planet of Cybertron. After a harrowing encounter with an asteroid field, the Ark crash lands on a planet unknown to the Transformers. This planet is called Earth, and is inhabited by small, organic creatures known as humans, who are yet to discover the existence of the Transformers...**

Forty-two years had passed since the Autobots had crash landed on the mysterious planet. In that time, trees and shrubs had grown up all over the Ark's rusting hull, yet the Autobots still lay dormant. Outside of the forest, there was a commotion. A human named Richard Ericsson on an all-terrain vehicle was driving a herd of cattle to a new pasture to graze in. "Come on, cows, let's go!" he yelled as the herd of cattle awkwardly sauntered along in front of him, but then a small calf broke off from the herd. The little red Angus calf was easily spotted and the man gave chase to it. He gunned his Polaris Sportsman's engine to catch the calf and head it off to get it back with the rest of the herd and did so easily. "Come on, little fella, let's get you back. Mommy has to be worried." Richard said, pretending the calf would understand, and he revved the engine to get the calf moving back to the herd. However, he saw something through the trees. Richard switched off the engine and went to investigate. He looked both ways and saw that a massive piece of metal stretched on. He curiously went to see if a door was anywhere, and he found one, but this was no human sized door, it was 45 feet tall, and suddenly it whooshed open and clouds of gaseous oxygen issued from the opening. Richard, in his curiosity, stepped into the Ark. It was nearly pitch black, but he turned on the flashlight of his cell phone as he paced through the dark corridors of the ship. Then, he reached the bridge and saw a haunting sight. Gigantic figures all lay dormant in stasis-the Autobots. Richard gasped "I found aliens! This is an alien spaceship!" He snapped pictures of each and every one of the Autobots on the Ark's bridge, then went to a huge screen where he took a picture of it as well, but then the screen sparked to life as a large, red facelike symbol appeared on it.  
"Rebooting...Teletraan 1-Online. Optimus Prime are you still functioning?" came a computer-generated voice. There was no reply as the voice echoed through the bridge. "Directive:reactivate Autobots. Course of action: energon pulse should be sufficient to reactivate Autobots' systems." Teletraan 1 said, and with that, a wave of energy rippled across the bridge and the Autobots' eyes glowed to life. Hound was the first to reawaken.

"Oh, my head. My processors...it feels like they're on fire!" He groaned. The other Autobots began to awaken as well. Richard was frightened as he reached for the 1911 pistol in his holster. Cliffjumper woke up and exclaimed

"Intruder alert!" He reached for his blaster pistol, but before he could get off a shot, Optimus Prime woke up and placed himself in front of Richard.

"Cliffjumper, stand down!" Optimus boomed. Cliffjumper dropped his blaster and Optimus turned around and knelt to Richard. "Do not be afraid, little one." Optimus said, kindly "My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and I bid you greetings from the planet Cybertron."  
"Richard Ericsson. Nice to meet you." Richard said as he calmed down "My God, they won't believe this!" He gasped in awe.

"Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong!" Bumbelebee said. Richard looked perplexed. "Don't worry, organic, that's called the universal greeting. I learned it in Scout School." Bumblebee explained. Optimus then turned to Teletraan 1.

"Teletraan 1, where are we?" He asked the computer. Teletraan responded, promptly.

"Location: unknown. This system does not appear on any Autobot or Decepticon star charts." Richard then spoke up.

"You're in the state of Missouri, part of the United States of America, on the continent of North America on the planet Earth, the third planet from the sun. We're called humans. " He explained to Optimus.

"Are there any signs of the Decepticons?" Optimus asked.

"Negative. Scans do not indicate any Decepticon energy signatures on Earth." Teletraan 1 responded.

"Decepticons? Who are they?" Richard inquired. This was almost too much for the human to take in at one time.

"The Decepticons are the enemies of the Autobots, and they are lead by Megatron. We have fought them on Cybertron, our home planet, and on battlefields across the galaxy until they launched a massive counteroffensive. The only way to save Cybertron was for us to leave in this very ship and search for a planet from which the Autobots can regroup and use as a launching base to recapture Cybertron from the Decepticons." Optimus explained.

" Optimus Prime , my analysis: Earth is a densely populated planet. Suggestion: Autobots should alter vehicular forms to blend in amongst humans." Teletraan 1 said.

"Vehicular forms?" Richard wondered.

"Here, let me demonstrate." Bumblebee said as he changed to his Cybertronian vehicle mode.

"So I guess you guys are called, transformers? And honestly, I don't see you blending in on Earth with that kind of vehicle form." Eric said.

"Precisely, Richard Ericsson." Optimus answered. "Teletraan 1, search for Earthen vehicles for us to adapt our shapes." Teletraan 1's screen then flashed with images of all kinds of Earth vehicles. Optimus chose to become a Freightliner semi-truck, Bumblebee a Mini-Cooper, Jetfire a B-1 Lancer, and all the others picked out their new vehicle modes.  
"Autobots, transform!" Optimus said, and all of the Autobots changed into their new vehicle modes for the first time. Richard was once again stunned by the Autobots and their amazing ability to transform, but then his phone buzzed in his pocket. Its battery was running out and it was almost seven o'clock. He then felt his stomach rumble.  
"I'm sorry, Optimus, I have to go. My family's expecting me for dinner! Tonight my youngest son is making his hamburger casserole and I'm hungry!" Richard said as he left the Ark.

"Goodbye, Richard Ericsson. We shall meet again." Optimus said. Richard got back onto his fourwheeler and drove off back to his house.

"Now that Richard was talking about it, I feel like I'm running low on energon!" Skids said. All of the Autobots agreed that their energon reserves were depleted.

"Wheeljack, did any of our Energon reserves survive the crash?" Optimus asked. Wheeljack pulled up a readout and looked worried.

"Yep, but a lot of it was lost during the crash. We've got about one dekacycle of Energon remaining." Wheeljack answered.

"Autobots, for now we must rest. Tomorrow, Bumblebee, you will lead an expedition to find a source of Energon." Optimus decided. Meanwhile, Richard arrived through the gate to the main yard of Ericsson Farms. It was a medium sized yard with a large shop and an adjoining shelter. Under it two of the farm's ten main tractors, a John Deere 8320 and a 7420 were parked, each hooked to a plow and a six row planter. In the shop was the farm's Case W20b front end loader, which was undergoing maintenance on its hydraulic system, and next to it was an old 6030. The shop was fairly organized, a main work bench with a vice and a drill press on the left and on the right of it were racks which held bins of different diameter nuts and bolts separated between standard and metric. Next to the door was the welding supplies, a Lincoln Electric welder and a box of 6011, 6013 and 7014 rods and a hand truck with air and fuel canisters which were plumbed to a cutting torch. Everything else was simply junk or spare parts off of machines from the farm. Richard sat down next to a locker where he took off his work boots and put on an old pair of tennis shoes, then he went inside to his house to greet his eagerly awaiting family. Richard was married to Sylvia Wyatt Ericsson, and they had two sons, John-Richard, the oldest, and Robert, the younger one. Robert was cooking the family his hamburger casserole as the patriarch of the family came in, hanging his cap on the rack next to the door. The savory smell of ground beef filled his nostrils as he walked in.  
"MmmmmMMMM!" He chortled as he walked into the kitchen "Smells good, son!" Robert smiled as he finished cooking the family's meal. Soon, the four were gathered around the dinner table. "You wouldn't believe what I saw today, boys." Richard said to his sons.  
"I'm sure we wouldn't." John Richard chuckled. John Richard and Robert both knew their father to be a rather comedic man, and though one could hardly count dad jokes as comedy, they still were entertained by him.  
"I getting cows off grazing this afternoon when I chased after this calf. The calf got back to the herd, but I found an alien spaceship in the woods where the calf ran off and I accidentally woke up its crew. They're these gigantic robots called the Autobots, and their leader is called Optimus Prime. They say they came from a planet called Cybertron. They said that they're fighting these other guys called the Decepticons, and their leader is called Megatron. The Autobots had to leave Cybertron in their ship because the Decepticons were striking back and they have to find another planet where they can regroup and re-invade Cybertron." Richard explained to his family. Robert and John Richard both burst into laughter. Sylvia then spoke up,

"Boys, stop. Richard, you may need to lie down. Did you get hit in the head?" She asked her husband.

"No, Silvia, I'm fine. I have pictures on my phone to prove it!" Richard answered as he pulled out his phone, but when he turned it on the battery was dead.

"We're sorry, dad, but this has to be the craziest joke we've ever heard from you." John Richard said as he cleared his place at the table. However, he was secretly curious to see if his father was right. In space, Megatron and the crew of the Nemesis continued their search for Optimus and the Autobots and was beginning to lose patience.  
"We will not stop until I find Optimus Prime and tear his spark from his body!" Megatron growled. Then, the Nemesis dropped out of hyperspace near Earth's moon

"Lord Megatron, the Ark's particle trail ends at this planet. I am detecting Autobot energy signatures down below." Soundwave said. A reassured smirk came upon Megatron's face.

"Finally..." Megatron purred as he looked out to see Earth rising over the moon.

On Cybertron, Ultra Magnus was in the Autobase Iacon command center with Kup an Nightbeat. "We haven't gotten any word from Optimus or his crew in more than 42 stellar cycles. Face it, they're gone." Kup said, regretfully.

"Don't tell me that. Optimus would never go out like that." Ultra Magnus said. Optimus was the Autobots' last best hope to win the war against the Decepticons. The Autobots were willing to give up their sparks to see this goal realized, but they would so before they gave up hope in their leader. Then, a beacon flashed, showing Decepticon activity.

"Uh oh, the cons' are at it." Kup said.

"I'll take care of it. Keep trying to raise Optimus." Ultra Magnus said as he changed to his vehicle mode and hastily drove out of the command center. Once Ultra Magnus was gone, Kup had an idea.

"I've got a better idea." Kup said to himself. Instead of trying to contact Optimus, he contacted a different Autobot. "Elita One, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Kup." A female Autobot answered over the communicator.

"You owe me this one, I need you to find Optimus Prime and help him with his mission." Kup explaine to Elita one.

"You got it." Elita One said. She and her crew of female Autobots were on their way to Cybertron when they received Kup's transmission. "Nautica, set coordinates for Optimus Prime, wherever he is." Elita One said.

"Yes, ma'am." Nautica, a purple, lilac, and orange 'bot replied, and with that, their ship blasted into hyperspace. Elita One clenched in her hand and in it was a medallion which glowed faintly...


	5. Shots Fired

**The Autobots have awoken after forty two years of stasis on the planet Earth and have encountered a member of its dominant life form-a human named Richard Ericsson. Now the Autobots are in desperate need of a source of energon, but unbeknownst to anyone, the Decepticons are closing in and poised to strike...**

The next day was Saturday, and that meant no school for John Richard and Robert. Two of the older brother's best friends came over, his best friend Harrison Clancey, and a girl who he was close to named Danielle Banderleigh. All three were in tenth grade and had many of the same classes together, but today, they were taking it easy as they rode around on the farm's Polaris Ranger side by side. John Richard drove while Jessica, or as the boys called her 'Jessie' , sat up front, while Harrison sat in the middle of the back seat. Jessica was a beautiful young woman, with a slender figure, long, auburn hair, and a clear, confident complexion, replete with light green eyes and a warm, glowing smile. Harris was a somewhat short, fairly tanned young man, with curly black hair and a pair of glassed over his eyes. They rode around the farm, having fun, until John Richard had a thought. He remembered his father's words about his encounter with the Autobots. "Hey, I hope you guys don't mind if we take a detour."

"Where, John-Richard?" asked Harrison from the back.

"It's a place my dad told me about last night." John Richard replied "You'll have to trust me." The three drove through the forest where they found the Ark. There, Ironhide, Jazz, Smokescreen, Huffer, and Bumblebee were clearing open the Ark's entrance. Jessica and Harrison both were amazed at this. John Richard now realized that his father was not joking about his encounter aboard the Ark the day before. The three humans stepped off of the Ranger and walked forward.

"Hello there, Autobots!" John Richard called to the Autobots. Bumblebee turned around and looked pleased

"Greetings, Richard Ericsson!" He said, warmly.

"I'm John Richard, Richard's son." John Richard corrected.

"A son? What's that?" Bumblebee wondered.

"Haven't you been paying attention to any of Prowl's familiarization briefings, Bumblebee? Two humans pair up and make a newer model of themselves. If one has the...male hardware, they call it a son, and if it has the female hardware, they call it a daughter." Jetfire explained.

"I definitely would've gotten that if someone wasn't always making funny faces from across the briefing room." Bumblebee replied as he shot Jazz a dirty look.

"What? Your reaction isn't my fault!" Jazz retorted. John Richard and his friends were amused with Bumblebee and Jazz's antics.

"Anyway, can any of you take us to Optimus Prime?" John Richard asked to none of the Autobots in particular.

"Sure, follow me." Bumblebee said after he and Jazz stopped arguing and changed into his vehicle mode. His door swung open to allow John Richard to get in. His new human friends climbed in and Bumblebee drove to the bridge. On their way, there came a gurgling sound. John Richard and Jessica looked at Harris, who was a rather largely built boy.  
"Don't look at me." He said, embarrassed.  
"I'm sorry that was me. It's my internal systems letting me know that we're kind of running out of fuel." Bumblebee apologized, then he arrived on the bridge. "Optimus, I have some visitors for you." Bumblebee said as John Richard, Harrison, and Jessie got out of his cabin before transforming to robot mode. Optimus turned around and his huge figure was stunning to the humans.

"Greetings, humans. Do you know Richard Ericsson?" Optimus said as he allowed the humans to step into the palm of his hand and placed them on a control panel.

"Optimus, this is John Richard, Richard's son." Bumblebee introduced the humans to Optimus.

"She's Jessica and he's Harrison." John Richard added. "I thought dad was joking when he told me about you guys." John Richard marveled. He looked around and saw the Autobots going about their work to get the Ark into some semblance of a functional headquarters. "So, you guys are called the Autobots?"

"That is correct." Optimus replied.

"And your enemies are called the Decepticons and their leader is Megatron?" John Richard continued as he recalled what Richard had said the night before. "You fled Cybertron, your home planet, because the Decepticons were on the offense and you figured you'd better go on the defensive because it would be worth it in the end by finding a planet you can rebuild your strength and counterattack to win Cybertron back once and for all?"

"Indeed." Optimus confirmed.

"So here's my question; Why are the Autobots and Decepticons fighting?" John Richard wondered.

Optimus answered him, "Millions of years ago, Cybertron was a paradise in a golden age. Before our war began, there were no Autobots or Decepticons, only Cybertronians. They were ruled by the High Council of Cybertron, made up of a representative from each of Cybertron's major city states and its ceremonial head was known as the Prime, a hero-leader who bears the Matrix of Leadership. Under the reign of Zeta Prime, Cybertron's economy faced ruin as the value of the Shanix, our currency, was plummeting and our exports of Cybertonium ore and processed Energon fell. To cut costs, many energon mines and refineries closed, leaving thousands of workers unemployed, and among these affected by the downturn was Megatron, a miner from Tarn. He decided to take matters into his own hands and began a rebellion after a period of being a pit fighter in the blood arena of Kaon, but it was swiftly put down by the Council's paramilitary directorate, the Elite Guard. Megatron was imprisoned. It was during this time he wrote his manifesto titled _The Deceived_. In it he explained that Cybertron was being decieved by the High Council and blamed them for the downturn of the economy in the fact that it was a plot to consolidate the planet's wealth and keep the population completely dependent on the Council. Many who read this manifesto agreed and began their own uprisings. Megatron was then freed with the help of his new army of loyal soldiers, who called themselves the Decepticons, after Megatron's manifesto, and together they deposed the high council and killed Zeta Prime, but then a new faction arose as a splinter group diverged from the Decepticons. They became known as the Autobots, and their mission was to stop Megatron, for in his rampage across Cybertron, he became what he sought to destroy-a tyrant. The Autobots waged a losing war against the Decepticons until the General of the Elite Guard, Ultra Magnus, agreed to help the Autobots, but still the Decepticons continued to beat back the Autobots until a young Autobot named Orion Pax from Cybertron's Capital, Iacon, was chosen by the Matrix to be its next bearer. I was that Autobot, and I lead the Autobots and the Elite guard on a massive offensive against Megatron and the Decepticons on Cybertron and across space." John Richard and his friends were in awe of Optimus' story.

"Optimus, I heard that the Autobots are running out of...energon, is it?" John Richard asked.

"Yes, our current reserves are depleting, quickly." Optimus said.

"I have an idea. Our farm gets a delivery of diesel fuel every two weeks, and believe me, ten tractors, a loader, two combines, a silage chopper, and three water pumps go through a lot of diesel fuel. Maybe I can get dad to break off a little chunk of it and save it for you." John Richard suggested.

"You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea." Arcee said.

"Yeah, it sounds pretty great to me." Wheeljack chimed in.

"Very well. Autobots, transform and roll out! Lead the way, John Richard." Optimus said as he changed to his semi truck mode, then Bumblebee took the humans outside to their ranger, where Optimus and the convoy of Autobots then followed them to the Ericsson Farms shop. In the shop, Richard and Robert were at work mounting one of the lift cylinders on the loader when they heard a great noise. Richard looked up and saw his son and his friends flanked by the Autobots, who changed to robot mode in quick succession. Richard couldn't help but smile.

"Some joke, dad!" John Richard chuckled.

"I see you've met Optimus and the gang. Pretty cool aren't they?" His father replied. Optimus knelt down to speak with Richard.

"Richard Ericsson, your son has informed us that your farm receives of diesel fuel to power ten tractors, a loader, two combines, a silage chopper, and three water pumps." Optimus explained.

"Well, scratch this old loader here off the list because it's not using any fuel right now because its hydraulic system decided it would act up." Richard grumbled "Sure, I get a discount for buying in bulk, but how fuel-efficient are you?" Wheeljack then stepped forward to a trailer with a small fuel tank on it, where he then extended a probe and a claw. The claw opened the cap to the tank and he drew from it a small amount of diesel, then his sensors set to work analyzing it.

"Hmm. Curious. One astroliter of this yields 12.3 astroliters of premuim-grade, energon!" Wheeljack said.

"What does that mean?" asked Richard.

"It means" Wheeljack answered "That we can get a reasonable bang for our cyber-buck!"

"Alright then, help yourselves. The pump is next to the grain bins." Richard pointed.

"My thanks are to you, Richard Ericsson. Autobots, transform and fill up!" Optimus said. The Autobots all changed to their vehicle modes and headed to the diesel pump. Optimus allowed the rest of the Autobots to get their fill before he would fill up. Each Autobot needed only three gallons of Energon to . After that, the Autobots felt much better as fresh energon coursed through their fuel lines.

"I feel...powerful! Thank you Richard!" Cliffjumper thanked Richard. "Now I'm glad I didn't blast you!"

"Any time, fellas." Richard replied, then Arcee looked at him as if he had forgotten her. "And lady." The Autobots were very grateful for Richard allowing them to refuel themselves from his pump. Meanwhile, the Nemesis was orbiting Earth. "Lord Megatron, I am detecting life signs on this planet." Soundwave said and an image of humans appeared on the hologram. Megatron cringed in disgust.

"Eugh, disgusting!" He squirmed "Find us suitable alternate modes to disguise ourselves, Soundwave."

"Affirmative, Lord Megatron." Soundwave said. Soon, the Decepticons were fitted with new vehicle modes. Megatron then turned to Soundwave, once he was refitted.  
"Soundwave, go down to the planet and search for the Autobots. Starscream will join you with backup once you have reestablished contact with the ship."

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Soundwave said, then he went to the hangar bay of the Nemesis where he then transformed into his new EF-111 Raven mode and jetted down to the planet's surface. Once he entered the atmosphere, he released his payload.  
"Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ratbat, deploy. Operation: Surveillance." Soundwave said to his scout force. The six small robots Soundwave carried were now reformatted into missiles which stored on his wings, and he launched the six off in quick succession, all streaking off in different directions in search of the Autobots. Back at Ericsson Farms, the Autobots were gearing up to start exploring Earth.

"Optimus, if you don't mind, can I take a small team with me?" Bumblebee asked hopefully. Optimus replied,

"With your qualifications from scout school, I would not doubt your ability to navigate on Earth, however, you may stand out more than you realize, despite taking on an Earthen shape." Optimus said.

"We can help with that." John Richard said. "We can help you get around Earth. I"ll go with you, Bumblebee."

"I'll go with this...blue guy." Harrison said as he pointed to Skids.

"Skids is my name. I'd be happy to come along." The Autobot theoretician said. It was Jessia's turn to chose an Autobot to pair up with.

"Arcee can I go with you?" she asked, sweetly. Arcee was tired of being the only girl on the Ark, and replied

"Sure, as much as I like you guys, I think it's time I had a little time with someone who I can resonate with." Arcee said as she changed to her car mode and Jessica got in.

"Nice interior." Jessica remarked, then Bumblebee lead his trio of Autobots off to explore. Ericsson Farms was on a dirt road, which then met State Road 135, which went through Cullen, Missouri, a small town in the shadow of U.S. Route 40 in Cooper County, Missouri. It was a nice little town, with a grocery store, a bank, some various shops and restaurants along main street as well as a large, grain storage plant which loaded its wares onto trains, which would then take it to inland wharves where it would be loaded onto barges going up and down the Missouri river. Little did the Autobots know, there was trouble up ahead as Rumble and Frenzy flew over. The three Autobots passed out of town and were driving through the beautiful Missouri countryside when suddenly, there came blasts of lasers as two streaks of blue and red whooshed over the three Autobots.  
"Decepticons!" Shouted Bumblebee. The three Autobots screeched to a halt on the side of the road, then the humans got out of them. "John Richard, Jessica, Harrison, hide! We'll take care of the Decepticons!" He said as he turned around, deployed his battle mask, then activated his wrist blasters while Arcee pulled out two energon sabers, and Skids activated an entire arsenal strapped to his body.

"Show off!" Arcee said.

"I always come prepared!" Skids replied, and the three Autobots prepared for battle as Rumble and Frenzy transformed to robot mode.

"What have we got here, Frenzy?" Rumble said, scratching his head.

"They look like Autobots, but I can't tell them apart from the junk in Swindle's trunk!" Cackled Frenzy.

"Nice quips, Decepti-creeps, maybe they're as good as your shooting!" Retorted Bumblebee as he fired off a string of plasma bolts at the two Decepticon scouts, but they retaliated with their twin pistols. "I guess I was right!" Bumblebee said as he dodged each blast of lasers, but Arcee then bounded forward as she twirled her swords, deflecting the two Decepticons' blasts, but the twins were cunning as they activated their pile drivers and slammed the ground, which made Arcee lose her balance and topple over, then they both pointed their blasters at her while she was down.

"Surrender, Autobot!" Rumble menaced.

"I don't think so!" Skids called as he roared in and changed to his robot mode, then with a swipe of his hand he smacked Rumble and Frenzy away. He then turned and he helped Arcee up.

"Thanks." She thanked him. Rumble and Frenzy were furious.

"Rumble to Soundwave, we've engaged Autobots!" Rumble called to Soundwave.

"Affirmative. I am en route." Soundwave said as he gunned his engines. An eerie silence then fell upon the battleground until the roar of jets suddenly filled the audio receptors of the Autobots and a dark blue EF-111 Raven streaked in and changed into the imposing shape of Soundwave.

"Soundwave!" exclaimed Skids.

"In the flesh, Autobot, and it will be the last name you ever hear!" Soundwave retorted as he used his speakers to blast deafening bass at the Autobots. Back at the Ark, Teletraan 1 sparked to life.  
"Optimus Prime, Decepticon energy signatures detected in close proximity to Autobots!" The Ark's computer informed Optimus. He saw Bumblebee, Skids, and Arcee's energy signatures near the Decepticon insignia on the screen, but he knew what to do.  
"Autobots, our comrades are in danger! Prowl put together a strike team and roll out!" Optimus said.

"I'm on it, Optimus! Jazz, Inferno, Huffer, Cliffjumper, Hound, Smokescreen, Jetfire, Ratchet, roll out!" Prowl said, and the Autobots rapidly converted to their vehicle modes and raced to the aid of their comrades. Soundwave's punishing assault was whittling down Bumblebee, Skids, and Arcee's strength. The Decepticon intelligence officer was more than a match for the three Autobots as Bumblebee fired volleys of plasma bolts, Skids launched dozens of micro rocket-bombs, and Arcee used her back mounted jets to aid her as she swung her swords at him, but he blocked the Autobots' attacks with his sonic shields and fired back with his electro-cannon. Bumblebee fired another blast from his bolt launchers and aimed to take another shot until he couldn't

"Scrap! I'm out of ammo!" he snapped to himself. Skids was also running out of ammunition in all of his weapons and Arcee attacked Soundwave, but with the swipe of his fist he punched her away and she dropped her swords. The three Autobots were now in trouble.

"Bumblebee!" Exclaimed John Richard as he ran out of the ditch. He ran to his friend's side.

"John Richard, no!" Yelped Jessic as she ran after him, and Harrison didn't say anything as he chased Jessica. John Richard stood over Bumblebee as Soundwave was poised to strike.

"And now, Autobots, you will die!" Soundwave declared, but an explosion erupted behind him, Rumble, and Frenzy as Optimus, Prowl, and the Autobot strike force burst in firing a hail of laser blasts at the Decepticons. Prowl activated is jamming beam to prevent the Decepticons from being able to call for backup, leaving them on their own. Jetfire flew in and strafed the Decepticons with his machine guns in his B-1 Lancer mode.

"Retreat!" Soundwave said, and Rumble and Frenzy changed to their missile modes and attached to Soundwave's wings as he transformed and jetted away. Optimus changed to robot mode and helped the three Autobots to their feet.

"Are you alright, Bumblebee?" He asked Bumblebee.

"I'm fine, Optimus." He replied. The Autobots were relieved their friends were safe, but now the first shots of the Autobots and Decepticons' war on Earth had been fired. Soundwave returned to the Nemesisand reported to Megatron.

"Lord Megatron, Soundwave has returned." Skywarp informed Megatron, who sat on his command chair. Soundwave walked forward and reported to his master.

"Report, Soundwave." Megatron instructed him.

"Lord Megatron, Rumble and Frenzy found three Autobots and engaged them, but we had to retreat once Optimus Prime and the Autobots arrived."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Megatron roared as he bolted up out of his chair and punched Soundwave. "Why didn't you call for backup?!"

"Lord Megatron, with all due respect, the Autobots were targets of opportunity. The Autobots had a jamming pulse to scramble communications with the ship. We were outnumbered." Soundwave said. Megatron turned as Soundwave got back onto his feet and stroked his chin.

"Well, at least your mission proved fruitful in one respect, and that is we now know that Optimus Prime is on this planet!" Megatron said as he then gazed upon Earth and clenched his fist.


	6. Allegiance

**The Autobots and Decepticons have now encountered one another in the first battle between the two factions on Earth. Despite Soundwave's defeat at the hands of the Autobots, Megatron now knows that Optimus Prime is on Earth, and if Optimus falls, Earth will as well, thus commencing the battle for Earth.**

Megatron and the Decepticons were orbiting over Earth in their ship, the Nemesis. Like its crew, the ship required Energon to keep its course, and its fuel reserves were dwindling. However, the Decepticons were planning something. "Starscream, can I trust you with an important mission?" Megatron asked his loyal air commander.

"Certainly, Mighty Megatron." Starscream answered. "I exist only to serve your will." Megatron glared boorishly at Starscream, knowing that his posturing to win his favor was not going to work, yet in his persistence he kept trying.

"Soundwave's scans of this planet indicates an abundance of energy resources which can easily be converted into energon. You and your armada will go and attack this facility. Bring back what Energon you can, and be ready for an Autobot response." Megatron briefed him of his mission. Starscream was always eager to serve Megatron, and it was part of why he had been Megatron's second in command since the beginning of the Decepticon faction.

"As you command, Lord Megatron!" Starscream replied, and he was joined by Skywarp, Thundercracker, Slipstream, Dreadwing and some jet vehicons. Four of them turned into sleek F-22 Raptors, while Dreadwing instead transformed into an F-35 Lightning. The armada of Decepticons soared toward their target, a natural gas refinery in near St. Louis, Missouri. "Prepare to attack!" Starscream shrieked as the formation of jets streaked in, preparing to attack. At the plant, two workers were getting off their shifts and were going to one of the workers' trucks. Both men were tired as they wiped sweat from their brows.

"What a day. At least we got paid today!" One of the workers said.

"You said it. Say, can we stop by and get something to eat to celebrate?" the other asked his friend.

"Yeah, why not, you treating? Where are we going?" Before his friend could answer, the shape of Starscream and his armada could be seen on the horizon. "Do you hear that?" he said. The two workers hearkened to hear the whine of jet engines getting louder and louder until Starscream and his armada roared in and Thundercracker started firing his machine guns.

"Thundercracker, you idiot! We're supposed to collect the energon, not destroy it!" Starscream snapped at his wingman.

"Sorry, got a little carried away!" squeaked Thundercracker. "

"Run!" shouted one of the plant workers and the two men fled for cover, then Starscream landed and changed to his vehicle mode in the parking lot as he fired his null rays and left a trail of destruction in his wake. Thundercracker, Skywarp, Slipstream, Dreadwing, and the jet vehicons landed and the Decepticon assault began in earnest. However, a probe Teletraan 1 had launched was monitoring the situation and the Autobots were preparing a response.  
"The Decepticons are attacking a natural gas refinery near St. Louis. Jetfire, gather a team and fly them to respond to the Decepticons." Optimus told Jetfire. Soon, Smokescreen, Cliffjumper, Jazz, Hound, Inferno, and Huffer were gathered and Jetfire changed to his jet mode.  
"All aboard! Quickly, quickly!" Jetfire called to the Autobots, then his engines flared and he hurled skyward, breaking the speed of sound in less than a minute and they arrived at the natural gas refinery in four minutes, where Jefire then transformed to robot mode after his passengers disembarked and they drew out their blasters. The workers at the refinery were stunned to watch the battle between Autobots and Decepticons unfolding before their very eyes.

"Hey Decepticons, you must be hungry for trouble! I hope you saved room for dessert, because you'll be full once we're done with you!" Jetfire shouted at Starscream. His foe turned around to see the Autobots standing ready to engage when he said.

"Jetfire, we meet again, and it seems you're losing your touch with on-the-spot one-liners. Destroy them!" Starscream replied, and the jet Vehicons charged the Autobots, but Jetfire and his team held firm.

"Actually, Starscream, my one-liner game is gradually getting better. Take 'em!" He called, and the Autobots charged into action. Jazz used his twin swords to block laser fire, then he sliced and diced the Vehicons apart. He sliced one's head clean off, then used the headless body as a shield until he was close enough to throw it into two more who were firing at him. One was knocked down, but another still fired at him, and Jazz decided to get out his spare pistol, firing three shots which found their mark and the Vehicon dropped to the ground. He paused as he blew the smoke off the barrel. Jets were flying in dropping bombs all around Cliffjumper, but he knew what to do.

"Smokescreen, give me a boost!" he called to his fellow Autobot, who was pinned behind some machinery. Laser blasts struck all around him, but he persisted to help his friend. Cliffjumper transformed to his Dodge Challenger mode and gathered speed as he raced toward Smokescreen, then changed back to robot mode, where Smokescreen laced his fingers and he jumped, then he threw the little Autobot into the air. Using his double jump ability, he soared hundreds of feet into the air and then fired his twin pistols, sending several of the jets careening through the sky in a ball of flame. Jetfire and Starscream fought one another, hand to hand. The Autobot air guardian threw punch after punch, but Starscream was almost too quick for him. It was an even match between enemies. Starscream wiped energon from his lip and popped his knuckles.  
"Alright, let's dance!" He smirked. Jetfire readied himself and the two continued their battle, punching, kicking, and smacking one another. Jetfire gained the upper hand as they tussled on the ground. Starscream kicked Jetfire in the gut as he got back up and pointed his blasters at him until he noticed the rest of the seekers jetting off with nets of Energon cubes. "Until we meet again, old friend!" Starscream said as he changed to jet mode and flew off. Later, Optimus, Wheeljack, and Ratchet arrived to help the rescue efforts. In addition to police and firemen, newscasters from major news organizations came to report and a press conference was held with the plant managers and the Autobots. Then a red Freightliner semi truck rumbled in, then in a whoosh of noise, it transformed into Optimus Prime and all of the newscasters ran to him.  
"Excuse me, who are you?"  
"Where did you come from?"  
"Are you built by the Freightliner corporation?" they swarmed around him, pelting Optimus with questions until he then knelt down to take a microphone. It was tiny in his hand, but he gently tapped it.

"Hello? Is this device functional?" He said to himself, then into the mike. A hush fell over the crowd of newscasters. "My name is Optimus Prime, and I bid you greetings from the planet Cybertron. I assure you, I have no affiliation with this 'Freightliner' corporation of which you speak. I simply was reformatted into the vehicular shape which I take by my ship."

"Who were these transformers who attacked the facility? What made them do this?" One reporter asked.

"Those who attacked the facility are a faction known as the Decepticons. They are the enemy of the faction which I command, the Autobots. The Decepticons were stealing your resources to distill into our main fuel, known as energon. They are commanded by Megatron, who founded the Decepticon faction and began the Cybertronian Civil War four million years ago. The Decepticons now hold the upper hand in the war, and as such I lead an mission in our ship, known as the Ark. The Decepticons followed us here, and our war has begun on a new front." Optimus answered as he stood up. "Megatron abhors organic life in all its forms, and as such I fear your planet is in terrible danger, but know this-I, Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, will not allow harm to come to Earth or its life. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, and we will protect Earth from the menace of the Decepticons, this I swear on the Primes who preceded me." With his words, Optimus now had pledged to protect Earth from the Decepticons, and he knew that it may cost him his spark. The newscasters all swarmed around him to ask him more questions, but he ignored them as he changed back to his truck mode and the Autobots followed. That night, Richard was watching the news on the TV in the living room.

"Tonight, on W-TFW, the greatest revelation in human history, we aren't alone in the universe! Autobot versus Decepticon! Optimus Prime versus Megatron! What does this all mean? Will Optimus Prime make good on his promise to protect Earth?" the newscaster announced.

"Slivia, boys, come take a look at this!" Richard called from his dad recliner. His wife came in from the kitchen and John Richard and Robert came from upstairs, where they then joined him as they watched the news report.

"Earlier today, a battle broke out between groups of the aliens known as the Transformers at a natural gas refinery in St. Louis. The two groups are known as Autobots and Decepticons, who have been warring on their home planet known as Cybertron for four _million_ years."

"Well, it looks like the Autobots have finally gone public." John Richard remarked.

"Wait till the neighbors find out they live on our property." Robert added.

"If." Richard interjected. If anyone found out about the secret the Ericssons were hiding, it could mean that the Decepticons could find out as well...

On the Nemesis, Soundwave was playing a news broadcast about the day's events. "Curse those bothersome Autobots!" Megatron fumed. Then he heard Optimus Prime's voice.

"I Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, will not allow harm to come to Earth or its life. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, and we will protect Earth from the menace of the Decepticons." Optimus' recorded voice said. Megatron could stand it no more. He was now determined that he would prove Optimus could not fulfill his promise.

"I now know what we must do." Megatron said.

"And what would that be, Mighty Megatron?" Starscream asked him.

"This was your fault, Starscream! I suggest you make a plan to...rectify our present situation." Megatron threatened as he clenched his fist.

On Cybertron, Shockwave's secret project was underway. Megatron's schematics were being translated into alloy as the imposing shape of Archforce took shape on a circuit slab. Only the basic skeleton was nearing completion. This pleased Shockwave, and behind him was Straxus.

"The initial framework is on schedule, but we will need a special energon-infused alloy known as Nyonium for the production of Archforce's armor. It is one of the modifications I made to Megatron's schematics, and it will make him stronger and nearly indestructible." Shockwave explained.

"Nyon? So that means its in Autobot territory?" Straxus asked.

"Exactly, but I anticipated this, and therefore a production facility to make the alloy is under construction in Polyhex, your dominion of governance." Shockwave said. "Therefore I will entrust you with supplying the alloy."

"Right away." Straxus told Shockwave, and he transformed to his gunship mode and darted away...


	7. Shock and Awe

**The Autobots and Decepticons have revealed their presence on Earth to the humans and Optimus Prime has vowed that he and the Autobots would protect Earth from the Decepticons, prompting Megatron to begin his plans for a display of force to the humans. Meanwhile on Cybertron, Shockwave has a secret plan to build a super warrior, one which he will use as an instrument to depose Megatron and rise to power. Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus and the Autobots of Cybertron strike back against the rising tide of the Decepticons in a surprise offensive...**

Since Optimus Prime had left, the Autobots of Cybertron were commanded by Ultra Magnus. He was a courageous 'bot and a born leader, one the Autobots revered and respected. In Optimus' absence, Ultra Magnus had launched a surprise offensive as the Autobots attacked Rodion, a city state straddling Autobot and Decepticon territory. "Push forward, go! Go! GO!" Ultra Magnus yelled over the sound of explosions and gunfire. "CHARGE!" Behind him, Kup, Nightbeat, Hosehead, Siren, Pipes, Swerve, Tailgate, Brawn, Bluestreak, Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Gears, Flak, Sidetrack, Sunrunner, Big Shot, Silverbolt, Air Raid, Skydive, Fireflight, and Slingshot leaped from behind their cover and followed Ultra Magnus into the battle against the Decepticons. Ultra Magnus swung his hammer and crushed five Vehicons at once, then fired off missiles from his shoulder mounted launchers which blew apart more. Silverbolt and the airborne Autobots streaked in, strafing the Decepticons with their machine guns and firing off missiles to provide the Autobots with air support. Brawn, with his massive strength, picked up a chunk of debris from a fallen building and threw it at a flight of incoming jet vehicons, smashing them all out of the sky. Big Shot lobbed huge explosive shells into the Decepticon advance, clearing the way for Sideswipe to dash in and rapidly pummel whoever was left standing with his bare hands.

"Try and catch me!" He boasted as he punched a Vehicon in the face, then kicked him into another.

"Hey, wait for me, bro!" Sunstreaker called as he ran it firing his photon blaster. Sideswipe stopped to catch his breath and Sunstreaker ran up to him. "By the way, I've destroyed more 'cons than you already. Were you even keeping track today?" He asked his twin. Before he could answer, Sideswipe ran back into battle. The attack was proceeding as Ultra Magnus had planned and the Decepticons were in retreat. Cybertronians who had taken cover during the battle came out of hiding and cheered as the Autobots swept through the city until Ultra Magnus, Kup, Nightbeat, Hosehead, Bluestreak, Pipes, and Mirage converged on the Decepticons' forward command post. There, the Decepticon commander saw what was happening and drew his weapon, but before he could fire, Ultra Magnus fired a blast from his rifle which blew the Decepticon officer's head off.

"Retreat!" his lieutenant shouted before being shot through the chest. The rest of his Autobots easily dispatched the remaining Vehicons and Ultra Mangnus got onto the comlink channels.

"Hello? Is this thing on? Good." All of the Decepticons in the city paused to hear Ultra Magnus' voice. "Your commander and subsequently the rest of the chain of command are...um...indisposed at the moment, so I figured I'd give the order myself. I very, very strongly urge you to surrender." Just like that, the Decepticons dropped their weapons and surrendered, ending the battle of Rodion in a decisive Autobot victory. After the Decepticon prisoners were processed, Ultra Magnus and his cohort returned to Autobase Iacon, where several Autobot scientists and engineers were at work. Perceptor, Grapple, and Hoist were busily working in the base's laboratory when Ultra Magnus came to see them.  
"You called for me, Perceptor?" Ultra Magnus said as he transformed from his truck mode.

"Yes, thank you for coming so quickly." Perceptor responded. Ultra Magnus followed him to a hologram projector table, where some footage showed up. "While you were away, a patrol clocked this." Ultra Magnus studied the footage of a Decepticon convoy carrying ingots of some type of metal.

"What is this?" He wondered.

"Nyonium. You can tell because the transports' bays are ray-shielded. Nyonium is an alloy of Cybertronium and Energon, and it's known for being highly durable." Perceptor explained.

"What are the Decepticons trying to build with it? How did they get their oily claws on the formula to make Nyonium?" Ultra Magnus questioned the Autobot scientist.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Ultra Magnus. I'll keep you posted if I make any more discoveries." Perceptor replied. In Kaon, Shockwave was overseeing the construction of his secret project, Archforce. Straxus arrived with a shipment of Nyonium alloy at Darkmount. Shockwave flew in and transformed from his rocket interceptor mode to greet Straxus, Onslaught, Brawl, Vortex, Blastoff, Lockdown, and Puncture.

"I see you have procured the alloy. In hindsight, I find the decision to invite your Mayhem Attack Squad a logical one, Onslaught." Shockwave said.

"What is this Nyonium alloy for, anyway?" Onslaught questioned.

"That is none of your concern. Your only worry is to see to it that the alloy arrives safely into my possession." Onslaught and the Mayhem Attack Squad then left, and laborers took the alloy to the workshops to then craft armor plates for Shockwave's super warrior project. Over the next few weeks cutters, lathes, drills, and millers shaped the alloy into plates of armor which were soon attached to Archforce's skeleton. Miles of wires and cydraulic lines weaved the armor plates to the skeleton, the brain module, optics, audio receptors and other essential components were fitted in the skull, then steel skin wrapped around it. A helmet exactly like Megatron's then enveloped the warrior's head. A fusion cannon was attached to his arm and his transformation cog implanted. Soon, the hull of Shockwave's arbiter of his rise to power as leader of the Decepticons lay completed on a circuit slab. Shockwave was very impressed as he came to see the progress of the project. "Impressive. Most impressive, but he lacks life." Shockwave said. He took out an energon cube, a sample procured from Megatron himself, and inserted it into Archforce's spark chamber. Energy pulsed within the titanic robot's chest, his fiery red eyes sparked to life. Straxus watched this in awe, then something went wrong. Archforce awoke and screamed in pain.  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He wailed in anguish.  
"What is happening?!" Shockwave said, calmly.  
"I don't know, Commander! His spark energy is off the charts!" Shouted a technician over the roar of noise and energy. Shockwave knew what that meant. Such energies could only be discharged during the forging of a certain breed of Cybertronian. It glowed green as arcs of energy flickered from it. Archforce was what is known as a Point One Percenter.  
"He is a Point One Percenter, just like Megatron. Ironic; His legacy will be his downfall." Shockwave mused. The awesome display of Archforce being gifted with life then died down, and the giant robot sat up off of the circuit slab. "Archforce, can you hear me?" Shockwave asked his creation. Archforce snapped around.  
"My liege. I heed your call." He said as he then knelt before Shockwave. "I live only to serve you." Shockwave's eye glowed.  
"Excellent, Archforce. You possess unusual abilities and characteristics, and are the most powerful Decepticon to ever walk the face of Cybertron." Shockwave told him.  
"That doesn't mean anything unless I get to prove it, Master." Archforce grunted.

"Patience. Your first test shall come. There is an Autobot artillery firebase five megamiles outside of the city. Destroy it." Shockwave said. Archforce smirked, then transformed into his tank mode and roared toward his target. At the base, the Autobots were shelling the outer suburbs of Kaon. The base's cannon fired shell after shell at the Decepticon city. A gunner was looking through his binoculars when he saw a purple, black, and cyan tank racing towards them.

"I've got a 'con on my scope. Take 'em out!" He called to his men. The gunners adjusted their guns to the right elevation and trajectory, then opened fire. A hail of explosive shells rained down on Archforce, but he quickly dodged the shots and fired back with his turret fusion cannon. His blasts struck home, blasting apart several artillery cannons, which in turn touched off ammunition. Archforce then disappeared from the Autobot commander's sight. He raised his fist as a signal to stop firing. A foolish move. Then, Archforce launched himself off of the mound of metallic soil upon which the base was built, then transformed to his robot mode. "Kill him!" The Autobot sergeant shouted, but Archforce replied with a blast of his fusion cannon which blew the sergeant's head off. An Autobot then ran to the command post, where he activated a distress beacon and seconds later was killed when Archforce came up behind him, jammed his thumbs into his eye sockets, then ripped his head apart, then used the body as a shield to block incoming fire and bludgeoned more Autobot troopers with it. In Iacon, Ultra Magnus was in the Autobase Iacon command center with Kup an Nightbeat. "We haven't gotten any word from Optimus or his crew in more than 42 stellar cycles. Face it, they're gone." Kup said, regretfully.

"Don't tell me that. Optimus would never go out like that." Ultra Magnus said. Optimus was the Autobots' last best hope to win the war against the Decepticons. The Autobots were willing to give up their sparks to see this goal realized, but they would so before they gave up hope in their leader. Then, a beacon flashed, showing Decepticon activity.

"Uh oh, the cons' are at it." Kup said.

"I'll take care of it. Keep trying to raise Optimus." Ultra Magnus said as he changed to his vehicle mode and hastily drove out of the command center. Once Ultra Magnus was gone, Kup had an idea.

"I've got a better idea." Kup said to himself. Instead of trying to contact Optimus, he contacted a different Autobot. "Elita One, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Kup." A female Autobot answered over the communicator.

"You owe me this one, I need you to find Optimus Prime and help him with his mission." Kup explaine to Elita one.

"You got it." Elita One said. She and her crew of female Autobots were on their way to Cybertron when they received Kup's transmission. "Nautica, set coordinates for Optimus Prime, wherever he is." Elita One said.

"Yes, ma'am." Nautica, a purple, lilac, and orange 'bot replied, and with that, their ship blasted into hyperspace. Back on Cybertron, Ultra Magnus and a team of Autobots arrived in a ship piloted by Powerglide. Ultra Magnus saw the devastation that Archforce had wrought as they landed on the pad at the firebase.

"Set us down." He said. The ship touched down and the Autobots quickly departed the ship. "Autobots, roll out!" Ultra Magnus called, but before the Autobots could transform, an imposing figure walked up.  
"Megatron? How!?" Kup said.

"I am not Megatron, Autobot, but I can forgive you for thinking so. I'm more powerful than Megatron will ever be! My name is Archforce!" Archforce shouted back.

"Open fire!" Ultra Magnus shouted, and the Autobots fired a blaze of laser blasts at Archforce, which their foe deflected with his Energon sword, then fired back with his fusion cannon. Ultra Magnus heroically charged forward, twirling his hammer as he blocked Archforce's oncoming blasts, then he swung his weapon and smashed Archforce back dozens of feet as he crashed into a cannon. The brutish Decepticon chuckled as energon dripped from his mouth.

"I'm just getting started!" He growled as he then picked up the cannon by its barrel and used it as an even larger hammer than Ultra Magnus' and set it falling onto its target, but the Autobot city commander was too quick as he dodged Archforce's attacks, and then fired off a blast from his shoulder cannons which blew Archforce's improvised weapon to pieces, then the two ran at each other and traded powerful blows in intense hand-to-hand combat. Ultra Magnus knew some martial arts, but mostly relied on that which he had learned at Autobot basic training in addition to the training offered at the Autobot Special Forces academy, whereas Archforce was pre-programmed with all of Megatron's knowledge of hand to hand combat, which was to say, his own style which he had developed in the pits of Kaon. Both warriors levied powerful blows against one another, when one gained the upper hand, the other turned the tide. Ultra Magnus was beginning to tire. It seemed as if Archforce could fight on forever. "Getting tired, Ultra Magnus?" Archforce taunted. Ultra Magnus doggedly put up his fists and replied, defiantly,

"I can do this all day!" Before the two could keep fighting, Silverbolt and his fliers swooped in from above and strafed Archforce, and while the air support had him distracted, Ultra Magnus called, "Autobots, get to the ship!" The Autobots then ran to the ship as Ultra Magnus and Sidetrack provided cover fire before getting aboard as well. The ship then lifted off with the Autobots' air support trailing behind. Archforce angrily fired a volley of fusion cannon blasts at the small group of aircraft, but it was no good. He then let out a scream of rage which echoed into the distance and returned home, for after all, he had completed his mission. He transformed to his tank mode and returned back to Darkmount to report to Shockwave, and when he did, Shockwave spoke to him.

"Excellent work, Archforce. You are all I ever hoped you would be. Megatron's grasp of the Decepticons is now limited and I will take my logical place as leader!" Shockwave declared as he and Archforce then paced about the throne room once occupied by Megatron.

Above Earth, Soundwave walked up to Megatron. "Lord Megatron, I am receiving a transmission...from Shockwave." He reported.

"Put it through." Megatron replied. Soundwave projected from his visor Shockwave's transmission.

"Lord Megatron. I am honored to see you again after forty two stellar cycles of separation. I have a present to celebrate our reunion." Shockwave said. Megatron was curious.

"Do tell, Shockwave." Megatron said. Archforce then stepped into view and Megatron was in awe.

"This is Archforce, created from your very schematics. The ultimate weapon of the Decepticons. I shall send him to you to see for yourself." Shockwave said.

"Excellent. I anticipate your arrival, Archforce." Megatron said, and the transmission ended. Shockwave then turned to Archforce as he said,

"Your ship is waiting. Do not fail me, if you do not destroy Megatron, I will destroy you!" Shockwave threatened.

"I will return to Cybertron with Megatron's head on a platter!" Archforce replied, then he transformed to vehicle mode and rode off to his ship.

"See to it you do." Shockwave murmured as his creation drove off.


	8. Arch-Nemesis

**Ultra Magnus and the Autobots of Cybertron have witnessed the unbridled power of Shockwave's creation, known as Archforce, who was built in secrecy as a means to depose Megatron and for him to ascend the mantle of leader of the Decepticons. Now, Archforce has been sent to Megatron to test his abilities against Optimus Prime and the Autobots of Earth...**

"Archforce's ship dropped out of hyperspace in Earth's orbit. Megatron was on the bridge when Blackout reported this. "Lord Megatron, a ship has dropped out of hyperspace. It's registering a Decepticon energy signature."

" That is Archforce. Hail him and give him immediate clearance to land." Megatron replied. Blackout patched Megatron in to Archforce. "Archforce. I have been anticipating your arrival. You are cleared to land on my ship."

"As you command, My Liege." Archforce replied, then he came in to land aboard the Nemesis, where Megatron, Soundwave, and Starscream came to greet the new arrival. The doors opened and the boarding ramp slid down and the doors opened as Archforce stepped foot into the Nemesis' hangar. "At last. I have arrived. Lord Megatron, what do you command of me?" Archforce asked. Megatron was impressed. Starscream, trying to one up him,

"And I as well, what is your bidding, O glorious one?" He asked Megatron. As usual, Starscream tried to act extra loyal towards Megatron as to earn his favor, but also as usual, Megatron was not impressed, at least with Starscream. Archforce was the ultimate Decepticon, bred from Megatron's schematics and Energon.

"Archforce, and Archforce only. I would like you to demonstrate your abilities." Megatron told Archforce.

"With pleasure, Lord Megatron." Archforce said. Megatron took Archforce to his personal quarters, where he had a small combat arena furnished with some weapons and a compliment of combat training drones.

"Show me what you can do." Megatron said. Archforce took off his fusion cannon and turrets, then entered the arena and eight, bulky combat drones activated. Their visors glowed to life, and they approached Archforce, but he was ready. He grabbed a vibro-staff off of a rack, twirled it around with a single hand, and whacked one hard enough he caved its face in. Megatron's eyes widened as he watched his clone do battle against his training drones. Starscream winced as he watched Archforce rip one of the drones in half at the waist, then tore the lower half in two and used the legs as blunt weapons to smash another into a pile of scrap metal, but while he was distracted, two jumped onto him, but he bashed one of them off and sent it flying hard enough it smashed into pieces and exploded when it hit the wall, then he flipped the other one onto its back and he drove his fist into its chest, gouged out its fuel pump and then bit into it. When the smoke settled, energon was splattered all over Megatron's arena and disembodied limbs and mutilated frames littered the floor. Some vehicons were tasked to clear away the wreckage, but Megatron was impressed.

"Is that good enough, Lord Megatron?" He asked. Megatron smirked.

"I would hardly describe that as good enough. It exceeded all of my expectations. The Autobots stand no chance against us!" Megatron replied. "To send a message to Earth that Optimus Prime cannot protect them, I have a plan to attack Kansas City in the United States of America. You will be instrumental in this attack, Archforce. However, we must bide our time. Our Energon reserves cannot power a full scale assault just yet." Megatron replied. Later, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp were having an Energon cube at the dispenser when Archforce walked in.

"Gimme that!" Archforce said as he snatched one of Starscream's energon cubes.

"Give that back this instant!" Starscream exclaimed. Archforce, being much taller that Starscream, held it up out of his reach. "I, Starscream, Decepticon Air Commander and Second Lieutenant to Megatron, command you to relinquish that energon cube to me!" Starscream shouted at Archforce. The brutish Decepticon taunted him,

"Come and get it!" Starscream furiously charged at Archforce, but his much larger opponent held him back as he swung his fists, then he kicked Starscream into the energon cube dispenser and it exploded. Starscream had had enough as he then armed his null rays and fired at Archforce, prompting Thundercracker and Skywarp to run away from the battle. The null ray blasts bounced off of Archforce's Nyonium armor as he paced forward, then Archforce fired back with his twin shoulder machine guns. The two then heard Megatron stepping towards the break area and looked at one another, then they stopped fighting. Megatron walked up to see the energon cube dispenser smashed.

"Starscream-why is the energon cube dispenser destroyed?" Megatron inquired of his lieutenant.

"Um...well..." Starscream said. "It was Archforce. The machine was malfunctioning and so this brutish oaf had a temper tantrum and smashed it!" He lied. Archforce bolted around and was furious. He picked Starscream up and throttled him against the wall.

"You liar! I'll kill you!" Archforce growled, until Megatron stepped in and separated the two, backhanding both.

"Archforce, get out of my sight. I will summon you when needed, and as for you, Starscream..." Megatron said, "Do not regret me stepping in instead of allowing Archforce to have delivered on his promises! Is that clear?"

"Y-yes, yes Lord Megatron!" Starscream whimpered as he scampered away.

"That was the only dispenser on the entire ship with Altihex Attack flavored energon." Megatron said to himself, seemingly lamenting the destruction of the dispenser. Soon, he then summoned Archforce and some Decepticons. "Archforce, Bludgeon, Fracture, Dreadwing, Blackout, Starscream-I have a mission." He told them. Soundwave then projected a map, and on it, a dot flashed over Warner Robins Air Force Base in the state of Georgia. "Your mission is to attack this military installation. They have huge quantities of fuel which can be converted into Energon. Bring back whatever you can. Destroy everything that gets in your way!" Megatron explained. "Starscream, you will provide air support." Starscream and Archforce looked angrily at one another, then the group then set off on their mission with some vehicons as extra backup. At the Ark, Teletraan 1 reported to Optimus after he returned from a patrol.  
"Optimus Prime, I am picking up Decepticon energy signatures entering Earth's atmosphere. They are on a heading to land at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia." Optimus assembled a team of Ironhide, Skids, Prowl, Smokescreen, Hound, Inferno, and Jazz, then turned as Jetfire walked in.

"Jetfire, Decepticons are inbound. Can you get us there in time?" Jetfire transformed into his jet mode and replied,

"Sure can!"

"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus called, and the Autobots got aboard him and he then took off and raced through the sky to intercept the Decepticons. Warner Robins Air Force Base was functioning as usual, airmen and officers went about their duties as aircraft from all across the eastern seaboard were being serviced and repaired. To fuel them, huge tanks of jet fuel were kept on base, a perfect target for the Decepticons. On the ground, some airmen were working to repair a jet engine when they saw Archforce and his Decepticons flying in.

"Decepticons, attack!" Archforce yelled, and he landed on the runway with a thud, cracking the pavement as the rest of his forces landed on the ground while Starscream and his seekers flew overhead, but then, Jetfire arrived and the Autobots jumped from his holds.

"Prowl, Jazz, get the humans to safety. Everyone else, engage." Optimus commanded. The Autobots charged into action against the Decepticons. Ironhide fired his shotguns, blasting two vehicons to pieces, then a burst from his shoulder mounted machine gun into the air which shot down Skywarp, but before he hit the ground he teleported. Ironhide was surprised.

"Here I am, back from the dead!" Skywarp said as he appeared behind Ironhide, but the Autobot warrior grabbed him and flipped him over onto his back, but Skywarp rolled over just as he fired a blast from his shotgun and replied with a volley of blasts from his plasma cannons, then Hound ran up from behind him and fired a missile which blew Skywarp off his feet, then he transformed to jet mode and flew off again. In the midst of the chaos, Archforce and Optimus stared each other down.

"Prepare to face my wrath, Autobot!" Archforce declared as he brandished his fusion cannon and fired several shots at Optimus.

"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, the only wrath which shall be faced here will be you under mine!" Optimus replied as he deflected the shots with his sword and axe, then the two clashed. Their swords clanged and crashed, the impact rippling through the air as the two battled, until Optimus disarmed Archforce, then he punched him in the face, but the Decepticon wasn't phased, and he replied as he punched Optimus back harder, so hard that he smashed through a hangar. Ironhide and Skids ran in firing their blasters and Inferno his torch cannon while Jetfire flew in and fired missiles and cannon shells at Archforce. It caught his attention as he turned around, transformed into his M1 Abrams tank mode, and fired his fusion cannon.

"Spread out!" Ironhide called as the Autobots flanked Archforce and pummeled him with a torrent of punishing firepower from all sides. Optimus recovered and pulled out his rifle to add to the Autobots onslaught against Archforce, that was until Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp roared in and dropped their load of bombs on the Autobots, and while they were distracted, Archforce transformed to robot mode to join Bludgeon, Fracture, and the rest retreated and flew back to the Nemesis with a load of Energon.

"I'll be back, Prime!" Archforce shouted as he jetted into the air. Optimus watched the sky as the Decepticons retreated. The Autobots soon returned to the Ark, where Bumblebee, Skids, Arcee, and the humans were hanging out.

"What's up, Optimus?" John Richard asked.

"The number of Decepticon attacks we have to respond to." Inferno replied.

"I fear that Megatron is preparing for something. His troops are stealing energon to increase their suppplies." Optimus said, somberly. An air of worry then came over the crew of the Ark.

On the Nemesis, Archforce was in his quarters on a secret, encrypted communication frequency. "Commander, I'm aboard Lord Megatron's ship. When will the time come?" Archforce asked to the other side. Shockwave answered,

"That time will soon come, Archforce."

"Here's the thing, Commander; Megatron is planning to attack Kansas City, Missouri when our Energon reserves are at a high enough level. That could take some time." Archforce explained to Shockwave. Now that this information had come to light, Shockwave could continue with the next phase of his plan.

"Very well then. I would send a supply ship with extra troops for Megatron and more energon, but it will take time, and the Autobots' various fleets throughout the galaxy have been harassing our shipments of energon from other planets, but I have a solution." Shockwave continued as he projected a schematic from his eye. It was a large, forked structure, much like a bridge. "I have had these schematics for over 2.4 million years. They are schematics for a space bridge. In other words, instantaneous transportation between Cybertron and any location in the galaxy." Shockwave said. Archforce smirked with confidence.

"I feel like that time is getting a little closer." He said to Shockwave, and the transmission ended.

Somewhere in space, Elita One's ship dropped out of hyperspace. "Why are we dropping out of hyperspace?" She asked Nautica.

"Up ahead. There's something on the scanners, ma'am." Nautica replied. The ship drew closer and there was a stricken space station. Elita One was intrigued and said

"Ladies, let's gear up." The crew then prepared to dock with the mysterious space station, and a light flickered in a window out of sight...


	9. Spaced Out

**Archforce has arrived on Earth and joins Megatron's crew. He now fights for Megatron in his preparations to put on a display of force to Earth and lay waste to a human city, but unbeknownst to his leader, Shockwave secretly created him to kill Megatron and rise to power as leader of the Decepticon faction. Meanwhile, in space, Elita One and her crew of Autobots have encountered a seemingly abandoned space station...**

Nautica docked the ship to the space station. "Stay behind, Nautica. We may need you to get us out if we need you. Keep the comm channels open." Elita One told the pilot of the ship.

"Yes, ma'am." Nautica replied, obediently. Nautica was used to staying behind with the ship on missions. The ship itself belonged to Elita One, but Nautica was well versed in its systems and designs, and Elita trusted only Nautica to fly it, since she was not only a good mechanic, but a good pilot as well. Elita One, Firestar, Moonracer, Chromia, Airazor, Lancer and Velocity swiftly departed the ship after it had docked to the space station.

"Stay sharp." Elita One cautioned her warriors. Firestar activated a small headlamp on her helmet, while the rest all used flashlights attached to their blasters to see as they paced through the corridors. Strangely, the artificial gravity on the station was still functioning, as well as some of the lights and other electronics.

"I don't like this. Something's off." Airazor mumbled as she stuck closely behind Moonracer.

"Like what?" Wondered Moonracer.

"Well for one, the artificial gravity is still on. Two, there's still some lights flickering-" Airazor answered.

"Can it, you two! Though I have to agree that this whole setup is starting to look like-" Elita One chimed in, and before she could finish, another voice came.

"A trap! How very perceptive of you, Elita One!" the voice said. Elita One turned around and a group of Decepticons rounded a corner, brandishing their weapons, then another group blocked their escape.

"Strika!" Elita One said.

"We meet again, Elita One. I'm glad you recognize me! Destroy them!" Strika, a large, muscular female Decepticon with maroon, dark orange, and purple armor shouted at her forces.

"Take 'em!" Elita called to her team, and the Autobots swung into action. Chromia fired her twin pistols at Roulette, a Decepticon cyberninja, but her opponent was quick as she dodged the blasts.

"Nice try, Chromia, but it'll take more than that to stop the fighting prowess of Roulette!" Roulette declared as she jumped and prepared to kick Chromia, but the Autobot then punched Roulette in the face, stopping her and she fell to the floor with a crash. Airazor fought Volt, a red and blue Decepticon, in a sword duel. The Decepticon swordsmech clashed his blade, then fired blasts of electricity at Airazor, but she deflected the shots and kicked him into a wall. Firestar single-handedly took on two more Decepticons, Overkill and Slugfest. The two brutish Decepticons surrounded her, then they fired missiles at her. She ducked as the missiles whizzed over her, then they both shot one another, then Firestar stood back up and then Strika's communicator, Nightcore stepped forward and launched off of her shoulder pods her minions. A bull named Grazer, a dragon named Dreadbot, and two cybertronians, Blacklist and Slipknot.

"Destroy them!" Nightcore said. Dreadbot swooped in and attacked Firestar, but Chromia blasted the dragon.

"Need a hand?" She called as she joined her friend, and the two Autobots fought off Nightcore and her scouts. Elita One battled with Strika nearby in hand-to-hand combat

"Why are you here, Strika?" Elita One questioned.

"Do you not see? We are on the Paradron Space Bridge Research Center, Shockwave sent us as part of one of his plans, whatever it was." Strika replied as she swung her massive fist at Elita, but she blocked the punch by crossing her forearms in front of her face and then flipped over her larger foe and roundhouse kicked Strika in the back of the head, sending her crashing to the floor. Suddenly, there was a loud rumble and a roar of noise.

"Nautica, what's going on out there?" Elita radioed her ship.

"Asteroids are hitting the station, lots of them!" Nautica reported.

"Get clear of the station and be ready to pick us up!" Elita One replied. The station was being pummeled by asteroids, and Elita knew that if her ship stayed docked it too could be destroyed. Nautica disengaged the ship's connection to the station and flew out of the way of the station.

"Decepticons, retreat!" Strika called to her forces, and her Decepticon contingent then evacuated and ran away down the corridor. Elita One and her Autobots recovered and then continued to the station's stockpile of energon, where they refueled in case they had a run in with the Decepticons again. However, the station was beginning to drift toward a star, its gravity getting stronger as it pulled the station in. In the command center, Strika and her Decepticons set to work gathering what data they could. "We need to recover those space bridge schematics for Commander Shockwave before this station gets sucked into that star!" Strika said, urgently. In the energon storage area, Elita One and her Autobots were gearing up to continue exploring the compound and, if necessary, battle the Decepticons.

"If we don't get off this station soon enough, we're done for!" Firestar remarked to her commander.

"Isn't it obvious? What we need is to work together with the Decepticons!" Airazor said. The rest of the Autobots quite audibly voiced their opinions on the matter. "Wait, wait, wait! Hear me out!" Airazor said. "If we just keep trying to fight the Decepticons, both of our teams are gonna die." Elita One was intrigued.

"Very well. Let's put this to a vote. All in favor of the truce?" Elita One asked.

"Aye!" called Moonracer, Airazor, and Velocity.

"Neigh!" Firestar, Lancer and Chromia said. It was up to Elita One to break the tie.

"I vote in favor of the truce. The ayes have it." Elita One said. The Autobots knew what they had to do. In the command center, Strika heard a pounding on the door, then it exploded as Elita One and the Autobots charged in and fired stun blasts which knocked down all of Strika's Decepticons.

"What do you want, Elita One?" Strika questioned.

"This station is on a collision course with a star. All of us are going to die if we just keep fighting one another. I propose a truce to try and save ourselves." Elita One responded to her enemy's question. "Oh, and another thing. We wanted negotiations to be as quick as possible, so that's why we dropped all your troops." Volt, one of Strika's Decepticons, then got up to see his commander surrounded by Autobots.

"Autbots! Destroy them!" He shouted as he lunged forward, but Strika held him back.

"No, Volt. For now, we've called a truce. We're all in danger and the only way to survive is to work together, but know this, Elita One, once we are off this station, the truce is over. Strika explained as the rest of her Decepticons got up off off of the floor.

"That's fine by me." Elita One agreed. They agreed with the truce and thus they began to plan their strategy to escape the stricken space station.

"Moonracer, can you pull up a schematic of the station?" Elita One said. Moonracer pulled up on the hologram table a schematic of the station. "We'll need to try and activate the station's orbital thrusters. It won't get us away from the star, but it'll at least buy us enough time to get off this wreck."

"That sounds like a good plan, so far. Given how long this station's been abandoned, it's unlikely that the thrust ignition console in the engine room will be of much use to you. There is another way, however." Strika explained as the schematic zoomed in on another section of the station. "We'll have to reactivate the station's main power core, then divert all that energy to the thrusters, and according to my calculations, the station has enough energon to power the thrusters at maximum output for about two breems." She continued.

"Sounds like a plan, Strika. Chromia, Lancer-you're with me in the engine room. Airazor, Velocity, Firestar, you're with Strika to the power core. Moonracer, you stay here at the controls and divert all power to the thrusters." Elita told her team. The Autobots understood their roles, and Elita One said, "Autobots, Decepticons, transform and roll out!" The Autobots and Decepticons changed to their vehicle modes and raced to their destinations. Elita One and her team arrived in the engine room and set to work immediately. Each Autobot and Decepticon worked together to try and reactivate the engine room's electronics. "Start priming the thrusters for ignition!" Elita called. Chromia, Roulette, and Nightcore set to work as they reset the electrical relays, then throttled the thrusters to all ahead at full power. At the power core, Strika and her team arrived and set to work.

"Volt, get ready to recharge the core. Firestar (?), see if you can override the safety switch. We're going to have to charge the core to maximum power if we want to slow this station down. Everyone else, get behind some cover, it's going to get hot in here." Strika said. Firestar went and began to disassemble the safety switch as Volt prepared to give it his all in recharging the power core. Volt drove his conduction sword into the spherical power core, then his back mounted Tesla coils began to hum with electrical energy until it was a loud roar. Millions of volts of electrical energy surged through the sword at over 100 amps into the core, charging it with energy. Firestar read on a panel the core's output as it rose to almost 95 percent output.

"Volt, get out of there!" Screamed Strika over the incredible noise and energy which crackled around them.

"Al...most...there!" Volt groaned as he pushed himself beyond his limits, then Firestar read the core at 100 percent output as she radioed Moonracer.

"Moonracer! The core is at 100 percent, divert all power to the thrusters!"

"I've got it!" Moonracer replied as she operated the station's controls. In the engine room, Elita One noticed and said to her team,

"Iginition sequence!" Roulette, Lancer, Chromia, Slugfest, Overkill, Blastcharge, and the rest of Elita One's team started the thruster ignition sequence and the station's orbital engines roared to life.

"It's working! It's working!" Lancer said, jubilantly. Nautica was watching from the ship, miles out of the way and saw the station seemingly freeze, then slow down as it drifted ever closer to the star.

"Elita, I'm en route to pick up!" Nautica radioed Elita One in the engine room.

"Roger that, Nautica. Everyone, get to the docking port!" Elita One said, but before they could mobilize, there was an explosion in the engine room. "What's going on?!" Elita said. She then turned and saw that some machinery had caught fire, setting off some energon cubes. Chromia ran to try and fix it, but Elita stopped her. "We've only got about one and a half breems left to get off this station! Transform!" Elita called. Elita and her Autobots ran through the corridors to find the docking hatch, and as they looked out of a porthole, they saw Nautica flying the ship in, and it was then that Elita noticed the Decepticons had left to rejoin Strika, but Airazor, Firestar, and Velocity arrived as well.

"Looks like we're on our own." Firestar said as she met up with Elita.

"Looks like it." Elita said. "Nautica, can you read me? Are you at the docking hatch?" She radioed Nautica.

"I'm hooking up now, hurry!" Nautica said. Elita One called to her Autobots, "Come on, transform!" They then changed to vehicle mode and swiftly made their way to the docking hatch, where they changed to robot mode and scrambled aboard the ship. Once Elita One made sure all her troops were aboard, Nautica pulled away from the station just in time. As the star's gravity pulled the station in and it exploded. All the Autobots caught their breath after their narrow escape from the station, and as they left, a hologram of Strika appeared before Elita One and her Autobots.

"Elita One, I would like to thank you for saving our lives on that space station." She thanked Elita.

"Oh, don't be silly. I can't take all the credit after what you did." Elita replied, humbly.

"True that may be, but remember our deal-once we have escaped, our truce is over. Until we meet again..." Strika said, and she signed off. An awkward silence descended over the Autobots.

"Well, where to now?" Nautica asked. Elita One was about to answer when Firestar chimed in,

"Elita, I'm picking up a residual particle trail. It registers as an Autobot energy signature!" Elita One was pleased. It had to be the particle trail left by the Ark some forty two years earlier.

"Follow that particle trail!" Elita One said, and the ship blasted into hyperspace.

Meanwhile, Strika and her Decepticons arrived on Cybertron. "Commander Shockwave, we have the data you asked for." Strika reported to Shockwave. She handed Shockwave a handheld projector and he activated it. He then gazed upon a schematic of a large, ringlike structure with annotations all around the projection.

"Excellent work, Strika. I will order Straxus to begin construction in Polyhex immediately." Shockwave said. All was going according to his plans, and Shockwave was set to wrest leadership of the Decepticon faction from Megatron. Outside, a small, catlike Autobot was watching. Once he had gathered enough information, he ran to his commander. He was a tall, red, yellow, and silver 'bot, with a red helmet that had a flip down visor.

"Nice work, little guy." He said, petting him and feeding him an energon treat. "Ultra Magnus will pay something for this, Steeljaw. Ol'Blaster's still gotta make some kind of a living!" Then Steeljaw transformed into a stereo speaker and Blaster changed to his car mode, then Steeljaw stowed himself compactly in his trunk, then Blaster hastily drove out of Kaon to Iacon.


	10. Battle Plans

**On Earth, Optimus Prime and his Autobot crew try to make the best of their situation. They have befriended the Ericsson family of Cullen, Missouri, which is where their starship, the Ark lies after crash landing in the woods of Ericsson Farms some forty two years ago. Now, the Autobot Bumblebee's human partner, John Richard, the son of the farm's owner Richard Ericsson, is going through some trouble at school. What will he do to solve his problems? Can the Autobots help their human friend?**

John Richard was sitting down to eat his lunch of some fried chicken strips with seasoned potato wedges and a cookie next to his two best friends, Jessica and Harris. "Hey guys. So, how do you think you did on that science test?" He asked his friends, trying to strike up a conversation. Before his friends could respond, two brutish boys walked up and the larger of them grabbed all three of John Richard's chicken tenders in his massive hand and bit out of them all at once, sloppily chewing as to allow John Richard to see them being ground up between his dip-ridden teeth. It was Joey Slick (which isn't actually his real last name), and John Richard had been the target of Joey all throughout the week. "Hey leave my friend my friend and his food alone!" He stood up for John Richard, but as Harris climbed up onto Joey, his friend's assailant slung him off and he tumbled onto the students sitting behind him. John Richard bolted out of his chair and the lunchroom exploded into a frenzy as students witnessed the beginning of a fight. He swung his fist at Joey and landed a blow on his nose. Joey recovered from this and then he punched John Richard hard enough he fell on the floor, knocking him out cold.  
"THAT'S ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!" Shouted a stern voice from the doors into the hallway. It was one of the vice-principals, Mr. Orson. "The rest of you, get back to class!" He commanded. Later, John Richard woke up in the office, the school nurse holding an ice pack over his black eye.

"John Richard, I hope you know why you're here." said the school's main principal, Mr. Ross.

"No, no idea at all." John Richard replied, sarcastically. His school had a strict, no-fighting policy, and anyone who was involved in a fight would be suspended for two weeks, regardless of who was to blame.

"You're being suspended for two weeks for fighting in the lunchroom. I know how much of a problem Joey has been for you, your teachers have told me, but you can't let him get to you. Just shrug him off." Mr. Ross said to John Richard.

"The only problem with that, Mr. Ross, is that it's kind of hard to shrug off someone who's on you like the clothes on your back." John Richard muttered.

"You two will have all the time you need to settle scores. Just don't do it here on this campus." Mr. Ross replied, firmly as he escorted John Richard out of the door. John Richard was sullen as he and Bumblebee drove home that afternoon.

"What's the matter, John Richard?" Bumblebee asked his friend. John Richard gave no response, he felt that talking would only make it worse. Bumblebee dropped John Richard off at the farmhouse, then continued on to the road worn by the Autobots' wheels from the Ark. John Richard dragged himself into his home, where his mother then greeted him.

"John Richard, we need to talk." She said to her son. He knew what she was going to tell him about.

"I know, I know. The fight at school today, you got a phone call from the principal." John Richard moaned, tiredly. His father then walked in from the kitchen with a soda can in his hand.

"Ah, yes, your mother was just talking to me about the phone call from the school we got today." He said "Do you know how much trouble you're in? Really, take a guess."

"It'd probably be more if Mr. Orson didn't interrupt us. Joey's fortunate I didn't knock his teeth out with a lunch tray. And it would've been worth it." John Richard fumed. Richard was having none of his son's insolence.

"Go to your room. We're not through with this conversation." Richard said, masking the anger within him. John Richard trudged up the stairs where he then secluded himself in his bedroom. Richard, however mad at his son he may have been, was still concerned. John Richard was a nice, young man with good grades and a perfect discipline record, until now. Richard needed a way to restore his son's confidence, and thus he jumped onto the ranger and drove out to the Ark. He gave a toot of the horn to signal his presence to the Autobots as he then drove in. Optimus was standing around the hologram table with Prowl and Jazz when Richard drove up.

"Richard, it's nice to see you, my friend." Optimus greeted Richard. The Autobots' human friend parked his ranger out of the way and replied,

"Hey, Optimus, where's Bumblebee?"

"Bumblebee is currently in the barracks. I can summon him if you would like." Optimus answered Richard.  
"No thanks, I'll get him myself." Richard responded, and with that, he drove away. When Richard found Bumblebee in the barracks, he was surrounded by Smokescreen, Inferno, Ironhide, Skids, Arcee, and Hound. He was wrestling with Cliffjumper.

"If he beats you, it's 200 transform-ups!" Ironhide jokingly called as Blumbebee held Cliffjumper to the floor, causing his opponent to tap out.

"Good one, Cliff." Bumblebeee said as he helped Cliffjumper up. "At least you lose with grace!"

"Except next time there won't be any losing for me!" Cliffjumper declared.

"Hey, Bumblebeee, I'd like your help on something!" Richard called. Bumblebee turned around and answered,

"Oh hi, Richard. What's up?"

"My son, John Richard has gotten into trouble at school for fighting. He never really learned because him and his brother, Robert never really fought. I'd like to ask if you can teach him how." Richard explained. "I mean, if anyone can teach you how to fight, you can." Bumblebee was flattered. He had, after all, graduated at the top of his class from Autobot Scout School, making him a subject matter expert in hand to hand combat.

"I'll see what I can do." Bumblebee said, confidently. The next morning, John Richard woke up, expecting that now he was at home, his father would put him to work on the farm, but Richard had other plans for his son. He hadn't that much to do on the farm anyway. John Richard walked in to get some breakfast when Richard cme to see him.

"You know when I said we weren't through talking yesterday evening? Yeah, I talked with Bumblebee, and he's agreed to teach you some of his knowledge of fighting. Joey started that fight, and by golly I didn't raise my son not to finish it." Richard said.

"Um...okay? Do you want me to do anything on the farm after we're done?" John Richard asked.

"You won't have time." His father answered. John Richard was somewhat pleased with this, and soon enough, he and Bumblebee were at the Ark in the training arena.

"Alright, John Richard, your dad is counting on me to teach you how to fight. I understand you're having some problems at school, right?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yeah." John Richard said, affirmatively. Bumblebee set up a holographic training dummy.

"Alright, first lesson of Scout School HTH combat-expect the unexpected. Show me what you've got!" Bumblebee said. John Richard swung his fist at the dummy, but it dodged him and then grabbed his arm, flipping him over.

"UOOFF!" John Richard groaned. Bumblebee helped him to his feet.

"Alright, maybe we should get to the dummy later. I think I'll have to just simply show you, first." He determined. Bumblebee walked John Richard through the motions of hand to hand combat, practicing punches, blocks, and kicks. John Richard copied Bumblebee's every move as he taught him. Even when he wasn't with Bumblebee, he practiced his knowledge to cement his muscle memory. He punched one of his pillows propped on his desk chair in his room, sacks of feed in the barn, and even a couch cushion held by Robert. His brother felt the blows of John Richard's punches as he punched the cushion.

"Good grief, John Richard. I'm almost scared for Joey."

"Don't be. He doesn't deserve it!" John Richard growled as he then landed a finishing blow. Without thinking, John Richard punched the cushion so hard it knocked Robert off his feet, then he tripped and fell over the coffee table. Sylvia walked into the living room and saw what had happened after hearing the noise. She then realized what was happening and walked away as to leave her son to his devices. Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse in a run-down section of town, a meeting was about to occur. Joey Slick walked in and looked at a piece of paper.

"This looks like the place." Joey said as he walked into the warehouse. There, a grey M1 Abrams, a yellow and purple Humvee, a red, white, and yellow Bugatti Veyron, a blue EF-111 Raven and a dark blue Ford F250 Super Duty sat. Joey was perplexed until a bellowing voice came from one of the vehicles.

"Decepticons, transform!" Commanded the voice. The four vehicles then transformed into Megatron, Swindle, Knockout, and Breakdown. Joey was terrified, he had seen the news reports of the Decepticons.

"You...you guys are the Decepticons! I've heard about you!" Joey exclaimed.

"So you have, fleshling. I want to make a deal with you." Megatron explained. Joey was afraid as he pulled out his phone and was about to call 911, but Soundwave caught him and deployed Laserbeak off his wing, who transformed into his bird mode and fired a blast from his eye beams which blew Joey's phone apart.

"Hey, I just got PUBG on that!" Joey exclaimed. Laserbeak returned to Soundwave and Megatron said,

"You will not speak of this meeting to any fleshling! Now, do you know these three?" Soundwave projected from his visor a hologram of John Richard, Jessica, and Harris.

"Yeah, I go to school with them. I got suspended for fighting that one." Joey answered, pointing at John Richard.

"Excellent. My intelligence officer has informed me that they are partnered with the Autobots Bumblebee, Arcee, and Skids, respectively. Is that true?" Megatron asked Joey. Soundwave then projected holograms of Bumblebee, Arcee, and Skids in robot and vehicle mode. Joey studied them and recognized the Autobots in their vehicle modes.

"I recognize those vehicles, too! So, what do you want me for?" Joey asked Megatron, impatiently. Swindle stepped forward and opened a tray in his chest compartment, where he then spread out Cybertronian weapons of many shapes and sizes.

"Yes, yes, come one, come all, to the grandest selection of weapons in my inventory!" Swindle announced, grandly. Before him, Joey saw an array of retractable mini-fusion cannons, wrist blades, laser pistols, grenade launchers, machine guns, mortar rifles, and shoulder missile pods.

"I take it that this John Richard seeks revenge upon you? If we give you these weapons to destroy him, you will act as our operative to gather information on the Autobots. Do we have a deal?" asked Megatron.

"Deal!" Joey agreed. Joey was taken by knockout and then affixed to his body was a Cybertronian exo-skeleton and mounted the weapons Joey chose. The next day, John Richard was scrolling through his Twitter feed on his phone when he saw a video that caught his attention. He clicked on it and heard Joey's voice. "Hey, John Richard, we're not done yet! Meet me tonight at the park! I'm gonna enjoy putting you six feet underground!" John Richard wasn't scared at all. He had been preparing two weeks for the rematch between him and Joey, and wasn't going to cower from it. That night, lots of people were gathered at the park to watch John Richard and Joey settle their score. Joey waited for a few minutes. "I bet he won't show up!" He chuckled, but he was wrong. A yellow Mini-Cooper with black stripes pulled in and out of it stepped John Richard. The car then transformed into Bumblebee.

"Stay back, Bumblebee, this is my fight." John Richard told his partner. Bumblebee stepped back into the ring of people, then Arcee and Skids arrived with Jessica and Harris to watch the fight. John Richard cracked his knuckles and popped his neck, as did Joey, and the two then shook hands. A hush descended over the crowd. The two then raised their fists. John Richard threw the first punch, knocking Joey square in the jaw. Bumblebee watched intently as John Richard levied blow after punishing blow upon his opponent. He was pleased with how well he had picked up on his combative training from Autobot Scout School. The crowed was awed at John Richard's fighting prowess, but Joey was only warming up. He then took off his jacket and revealed his new upgrades.

"With these upgrades, you never stood a chance!" Joey boasted. He then activated his mini-fusion cannon and it charged up to fire a blast at John Richard, but Bumblebee jumped in to save his friend.

"Sorry, John Richard, but this is our fight now! He's somehow gotten his hands on Cybertronian weapons!" Bumblebee said. Skids and Arcee ran to help as a battle ensued. Joey chuckled to himself.

"I didn't expect your tin-can friends to step in, but I'm gonna like this!" He said as he fired a blast from his fusion cannon, but Arcee deflected the blasts with her swords, then Skids fired a salvo of rockets from his shoulder launchers. Joey activated his shoulder mounted mortar rifle and fired precise bursts of micro-mortar shells which blew up the rockets in midair. Joey then activated his portable shield projector, which cast a protective energy screen around him. The three Autobots and John Richard battled with Joey and attacked with all their might, but when they finished, Joey retracted his shield and retaliated, but he was beginning to tire.

"Megatron, now!" Joey said into a wrist communicator on one of his gauntlets. A few seconds passed until Megatron, Swindle, Bludgeon, and Breakdown rolled in and transformed to their robot mode, then Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp streaked in and landed in robot mode as well.

"Decepticons, attack!" Megatron roared and the Decepticons charged into battle. Bumblebee quickly radioed the Ark for backup.

"Optimus, this is Bumblebee! We're under Decepticon attack and Megatron's leading it! Bring help as quick as you can!" Optimus was already on top of the situation as he and the rest of the Autobots were preparing to depart.

"Autobots, transform and roll out!" He called, and all of the Autobots changed to their vehicle modes and they raced to help their friends. Back at the park, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Skids all battled Megatron and the Decepticons. Skids fired his twin machine guns at Breakdown, Arcee clashed against Bludgeon with her swords, while Bumblebee battled Megatron. Despite his size, Bumblebee put up quite a fight against the Decepticon leader. He fired blast after blast from his gauntlets at him, only for Megatron to deflect the shots with his sword and swung at him until he could finally land a killing blow, but Arcee stepped in and blocked his attack with her swords.

"FALL, AUTOBOTS!" Megatron shouted, but a blast of an air horn signaled that Optimus Prime and the Autobots had arrived to help. In quick succession, the Autobots transformed to their vehicle modes and opened fire on the Decepticons. Megatron saw the familiar shape of his enemy and was indeed pleased. "Optimus Prime, we meet again, at last!" He said, excitedly.

"Megatron!" Optimus said as he stood his ground.

"Remember that name, Optimus. It's the last one you'll ever hear! I'll crush you with my bare hands!" Megatron declared as he lunged at Optimus and they then fought one another in savage combat as their forces battled around them. They clashed with swords, blasted with lasers, and bashed one another with their fists, and while Optimus was holding his own, Megatron was winning the fight. He punched Optimus in the chest so hard he was sent flying back, plowing through the grass of the park. John Richard, Bumblebee, Harris, Skids, Jessica, and Arcee ran to Optimus to try and help him as Megatron then paced forward.

"Optimus, get up! Please!" John Richard exclaimed, then from the rubble, some of the teenagers who came to watch the fight began to chant,

"Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! " Optimus then reached inside himself and with all his strength he got up to face Megatron once again. Megatron, knowing Optimus was down, fired a fusion cannon blast at Optimus, but Joey then ran to the rescue and activated his shield, protecting Optimus from the attack.

"WHAT!? We had a deal, fleshling!" Megatron shouted, furiously.

"I know, but I've figured out why you're called 'Decepticons' now! Everybody, attack!" Joey replied, and with that the Autobots unleashed a devastating torrent of firepower on Megatron. He deflected the shots with his sword and reflected a laser blast back at Hound, Smokescreen, and Cliffjumper, then he shouted,

"Decepticons, retreat!" The Decepticons rapidly pulled out of the battle and retreated to the safety of the Nemesis. The humans then cheered and clapped with joy for the Autobots' victory in the battle. John Richard and Joey then shook hands once again and he thanked his former enemy.

"Thanks, Joey. You saved us all."

"No problem, buddy." Joey said. John Richard was surprised as the two then gave one another a firm bro-hug. Joey then asked Ratchet to remove the exoskeleton he had been implanted with, returning him to normal. Coincidentally, the day both boys returned to school, the lunchroom was serving chicken tenders again. John Richard sat down with Jessica and Harris, then he was joined by Joey. Instead of taking his chicken tenders, Joey put his on John Richard's tray.

"What's this all about?" John Richard asked.

"I'm not that hungry today. Besides, would you three like to come and grill some burgers tonight at my place?" Joey replied. The three then obliged their new friend, and now, John Richard and Joey are very good friends.

Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron and Soundwave were scheming. "That fleshling, Joey Slick, betrayed us, and even worse, he did not gather a single shred of intelligence on the Autobots!" Megatron growled.

"If I may, Megatron..." Soundwave said. He then played a clip from the internet of the fight between him and Optimus Prime while the human teenagers were cheering Optimus on. "...Optimus Prime promised he would protect humanity, these humans seem to be encouraging him. Optimus is well known for his charismatic leadership of the Autbots, and has successfully rallied them against us. If we can capture Optimus Prime, perhaps the Autobots will be so demoralized by our holding him hostage that they will pose no threat to our attack on Kansas City." He explained. Megatron stroked his chin. He knew that Soundwave was right, and to defeat the Autobots, Megatron had to break their will to fight.

"Excellent, Soundwave. I certainly will add that to our...itinerary." Megatron said. Now, Megatron was well on the way to fulfilling his goal of defeating Optimus and conquering Earth. He simply had to reach out and grab it...


	11. Indontured Inferno

Note: The title of this chapter is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the TF Energon episode _Imprisoned Inferno_ 's misspelled title card. It is therefore the word 'indentured' is misspelled on purpose.

 **Optimus Prime and his Autobot crew live with the Ericssons on their farm in Cullen, Missouri. Richard, the farm's owner, performs many tasks essential to its successful operation. When the time comes, he burns off his hay fields so that the ashes can fertilize the soil and better grass can grow over it, and one Autobot among Optimus' crew takes very happily to starting fires...**

Richard, John Richard, and Robert were preparing to burn off the farm's hay fields. Over the past several days, John Richard and Robert had been harrowing fire breaks to prevent the fire from spreading. Cows were moved well out of the way as to not frighten them and cause a stampede. Optimus and a small squad of Autobots were going to refuel at the fuel tank when they came to see what Richard was up to. "Good morning, Richard." Optimus said as he transformed to robot mode.

"Oh, hey, Optimus. Are you going to be busy today?" Richard asked as he was checking over the Ranger.

"I don't think so, Richard, why are you asking? Is there anything on the farm you want us to help with?" Prowl asked as he too, converted to robot mode.

"Yes actually. The boys and I are going to be burning off our fields. We'd like it if you helped." Answered Richard. This prompted Inferno to rapidly change to robot mode.

"Burning! Alright! Can I help?" He said. Inferno was the Ark's damage control officer, but was ironically quite a pyromaniac. At any chance he could get, he would use his torch cannon to blast flames at whatever needed it. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Inferno, I advise you to take extreme caution. Earth's wildlife is highly fragile and destruction of their habitats can lead to severe ecological turmoil." Optimus warned.

"I'll be fine, Optimus." Inferno insisted.

"Let him, Optimus. With all that heat energy released from those fires I can use my new power siphon to make Energon cubes for us!" Wheeljack said.

"Very well then, Autobots, prepare to assist Richard in his tasks." Optimus said. Richard took a farm truck, while Bumblebee was given a backpack built by Wheeljack with a built in water hose to spray at fires when they were burning too close to the woods. John Richard and Robert followed with Prowl, Inferno, Wheeljack, Hound, and Jetfire. The operation went smoothly once Richard had gotten a burning permit over the phone and they set to work. Inferno was indeed happy to light his torch cannon and spray streams of flames out onto the grass. Wheeljack collected plenty of energon cubes for the Autobots using heat energy generated from the fires. His eyes flashed with crazed enthusiasm, which worried Optimus as the day went on. The team then got to the last hay field and were ready to be done for the day. Inferno wasn't through having fun, just yet.

"Light it up, Inferno!" Richard called to Inferno as he transformed from his Oshkosh P15 fire engine mode and sparked his torch cannon to life. However, he misjudged his aim and shot a tongue of flames over the firebreak into the woods beyond. The highly flammable fuel began to burn down trees in a raging, roaring fire.

"Inferno, stop!" Richard exclaimed, but Inferno continued to spray flames.

"Bumblebee, Jetfire, contain the situation!" Optimus barked to the two Autobots.

"We're on it, Optimus!" Bumblebee said as Jetfire quickly transformed to his jet mode.

"Hang on, little buddy!" He said as Bumblebee then sat astride Jetfire's fuselage, then he streaked into the air. Bumblebee then sprayed the fire until his tank ran out.

"I'm out of water!" he exclaimed.

"I've got this, jump!" Jetfire said "And tell everyone else to cover their audio receptors!" Bumblebee leaped off of Jetfire and landed on the ground, then he radioed Optimus.

"Optimus, I'm out of water. Jetfire says to cover your audio receptors!"

"For what reason, Bumblebee?" Optimus inquired.

"Just do it!" Bumblebee said. Optimus and the Autobot shut off their audio receptors, while the humans covered their ears. Jetfire then leveled out right above the blazing patch of woods then he throttled his engines as he shot skyward at nearly four times the speed of sound. The shockwave from Jetfire's sudden ascent then snuffed out the fire in an instant. Inferno then realized what he had done and lubricant leaked from his eyes.

"Inferno, what's the matter?" Optimus asked his comrade. Inferno said nothing as he pushed Optimus away and changed to vehicle mode and sped away. The next day, Richard took the farm's Caterpillar Challenger 65 rubber tracked tractor with a pusher blade to push down burnt trees while John Richard took the loader and piled them up. Ironhide then loaded the trees onto Huffer's trailer as he pulled them in his Freightliner M2 truck mode. Richard stopped to fuel up his tractor from the fuel trailer.

"I'm glad that fire was still on our property. Lord knows what would've happened if that got on someone else's place." He sighed, thankfully "So how's Inferno doing? Is he at the Ark?" Wheeljack turned and looked at him mournfully.

"He just...left. He turned off his comlink so we have no way to track or contact him." Wheeljack said. Richard then felt terrible for the Autobots. He wasn't angry with Inferno at all, just afraid for what he was doing to himself. "We don't have the resources to mount a search for him, not now that the Decepticons seem to be up to something. They're gathering their energon for something." Meanwhile, Inferno was wandering the breadth of western Illinois after getting off of US-40. However, above him, Soundwave was flying overhead, tracking Inferno's energy signature.

"Lord Megatron, I am tracking an Autobot energy signature." He radioed the Nemesis.

"Continue tracking him, Soundwave. The Insecticons will join you, soon." Megatron replied. He then turned to three black, dark yellow, and purple Decepticons. "Bombshell, Kickback, Shrapnel-I have a mission for you. Meet Soundwave at these coordinates."

"Yes, Lord Megatron!" Bombshell replied, obediently. "Insecticons, transform!" Bombshell then transformed into a rhinoceros beetle, Kickback a grasshopper, and Shrapnel a stag beetle, and as they did they shrunk to the size of Earth insects, then they flew off to join Soundwave. Back down below, Inferno had stopped to rest in a scrapyard. He transformed to robot mode and then sat down upon a stack of crushed cars. The memories of why he had left the Autobots were still fresh as they stirred in his brain module. Then, he heard the whine of jet engines overhead and watched as Soundwave then flew in and changed to robot mode. Inferno quickly stood up and armed himself, but Soundwave blasted bass from his shoulder cannon, knocking Inferno back.

"Soundwave...why are you following me?" Inferno wondered. Soundwave was distracting Inferno to allow Bombshell to complete his task. The Insecticon stuck his probe into Inferno's steel skin and injected a small capsule into him, which traveled through his fuel lines into his brain module, taking root and then a pulse of energy rippled through Inferno's body. "Argh! What's happening to me?!" He groaned with pain. Bombshell then transformed to robot mode as the rest of the Insecticons joined him.

"You're now under my control, Autobot, courtesy of my cerebro-shell!" Bombshell answered. Inferno's eyes then flashed, turning purple. "We have big plans for you, Autobot."

"Lord Megatron, we have the Autobot under our control." Soundwave radioed the Nemesis. Megatron was quite pleased with this.

"Excellent, Soundwave. Knockout has completed construction of a power siphoning device and we shall join you soon." Megatron replied.

"Affirmative, Lord Megatron." Soundwave signed off his transmission. "Follow us, Inferno." Inferno unflinchingly transformed to vehicle mode and followed Soundwave and the Insecticons to meet Megatron, Starscream, Archforce, Bludgeon, Dreadwing, Blackout, Slipstream, Breakdown, and some Vehicons outside a pulp wood plant in northern Illinois. Megatron was most pleased with Bombshell's work.

" Excellent work, Bombshell. Your skills of persuasion serve you well. Inferno is one of the most dangerous Autobots, known for his flamethrowing abilities, abilities which we will harness to gather enough energon to power our assault. We are going to set fire to the stores of wood pulp here at this plant, and from it gather the heat energy given off by the flames! Inferno, commence the attack!"

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Inferno replied, blandly. He then stepped forward and sparked his torch cannon to life, spraying streams of flame onto the wood. A worker saw this and was alarmed.

"We're under attack!" Fire and rescue services were soon called to the scene, but Megatron noticed this and commanded to the rest of the Decepticons present,

"Destroy them!" The Decepticons then attacked the firemen and police sent to help stop the fire from spreading. Police fired their pistols at their attackers, but to no avail. Bludgeon slashed a fire engine in two, then cleaved off the bucket on a ladder truck. Laserbeak blasted the weapons out of the hands of police firing at them while Buzzsaw slashed through a police car. Up above, Jetfire was closing in.

"We're closing in on Inferno's position. Thankfully we can still track his energy signature!" He said. Jetfire then landed and disgorged Optimus, Prowl, Ironhide, Huffer, Smokescreen, Jazz, Hound, Cliffjumper and Wheeljack, then he transformed to robot mode.

"Autobots, attack!" Optimus called, and at his command the Autobots charged into action. Ironhide blasted apart Vehicons with his shotguns while Smokescreen fired his shoulder machine guns at Bludgeon, who deflected the shots with his sword.

"Nice try, Autobot! I'll enjoy cutting you apart like Cesium Salami!" Bludgeon said, but before he could swing his sword at Smokescreen, the Autobot fired a flashbang grenade in Bludgeon's face, allowing him to then kick him in the face and transform to vehicle mode. Optimus fought off Vehicons and when he had defeated his attackers with his ax and sword he saw a terrifying sight. The raging fires were caused by Inferno, who was under Decepticon mind control.

"Inferno!" Optimus exclaimed.

"Yes, Optimus, I see you have found your lost sheepatron. Inferno is under my control, now! Destroy him, Inferno!" Megatron said. Without a single thought, Inferno turned and unleashed a blast of flames upon Optimus. Optimus groaned as the flames seared Optimus' skin, but Prowl tackled him while Optimus got up and fought Megatron.

"You've made a grave mistake, Megatron!" Optimus said as he and Megatron clashed their blades.

"On the contrary, Prime! The only mistake made here is your pointless devotion to protecting these weak, pathetic creatures!" Megatron said as he punched Optimus in the face. Inferno punched Prowl off of him and watched as Megatron continued to beat Optimus down "Inferno, finish him!" Megatron said.

"Inferno, no!" Optimus said. "The incident on the farm was an accident, Inferno! There is nothing you can do to stop the past! You have to break the control!" Optimus said. The cerebro-shell implanted by Bombshell was still taking effect, but then, Inferno remembered. He remembered the emotional pain he felt when he accidentally set fire to Richard's woods, the destruction he could have unleashed. These thoughts troubled him no more as his eyes then flashed from purple to blue, and he broke free of Bombshell's command.

"Wait are you waiting for?! Finish him!" Megatron commanded, but Inferno didn't. Instead, he fired a blast of flames at Megatron, but his adversary fired a blast of his fusion cannon which blocked the flames. "You broke the control!? How!?" Megatron exclaimed

"I don't serve you any more, Megatron! It's time I put your plans on ice!" Inferno said, then he activated his cryogenic sprayer and sprayed liquid nitrogen on the fire, extinguishing the blaze, but then, a loud 'pop' was heard and Inferno toppled to the ground.

"Inferno!" the Autobots exclaimed as they rushed to the aid of their friend.

"Decepticons, retreat!" Megatron called, and the Decepticons then escaped with with a huge load of Energon cubes.

"Foolish Autobots! Even if your friend may have broken control of Bombshell's cerebro shell, it will still detonate and kill him!" Megatron cackled as he then retreated. A few days later, Inferno woke up as Ratchet and Optimus hovered over him.

"What happened? Am I dead?" Inferno wondered as he rubbed his head.

"You were almost dead. That cerebro shell blew a good chunk out of your brain module. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to reconstruct it and upload your backup personality components into it." Ratchet explained.

"Welcome home, old friend." Optimus said as he helped Inferno to his feet off of his circuit slab.

"I don't remember anything that happened. Did I miss something, Optimus?" Inferno asked.

"Most of your short term memories were erased in the surgery, and quite possibly for the better. I am pleased that you are back where you belong, among friends." Optimus said.

Meanwhile, in space, Elita One's ship dropped out of hyperspace. "We're here." Nautica said. "This is where the particle trail ends." Elita One looked at the blue planet with green continents ahead of her.

"Finally. We found him." Elita One said with relief. She and her Autobots had been contacted by Kup on Cybertron after their failures to establish contact with Optimus themselves, and so he contacted an old friend of his to try and track him down for Ultra Magnus.

"I'm detecting multiple Autobot energy signatures down below, and Decepticons as well!" Chromia announced. Elita One looked at the projection and saw images of humans, Earth's dominant life forms.

"Alright, ladies. We'll have to blend in and take on Earth vehicle modes. After that, prepare to land." Elita One said as the ship flew closer and closer to Earth...


	12. Knowledge is Power

**Above Earth, Elita One and her Autobots have found the crash site of Optimus Prime and prepare to make contact. Meanwhile, on Cybertron, Shockwave and his Decepticons are in the final stages of construction of their space bridge with which they will assist Megatron in an attack on Kansas City, Missouri. However, Blaster, a former Autobot turned mercenary, prepares to reveal to Ultra Magnus this information in hopes of coming to terms with his former brothers in arms...**

* * *

Kup, Bluestreak, Brawn, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Pipes, Hosehead, Siren, Gears, Mirage, and Flak were on patrol as they entered Tetrahex, an Autobot-held city state that was in danger of slipping away after increased Decepticon attacks. "Keep your receptors peeled, lads. It's this kind of alertness you had to have when I was stationed on Gerodos-Alpha during the Kappa Quadrant liberation campaign." Kup advised his team.

"How can you be so old but be able to remember so much?" Sideswipe questioned.

"Moral of the story, always back up your hard drives, kid" Kup answered, then an explosion rang out and gunfire from above rained down upon the Autobots. "Scatter!" Kup shouted as the Autobots took cover. Some of Shockwave's Decepticons, Lugnut, Skyquake, Falcon, Stalker, Snare, Talon, and some ground Vehicons launched an ambush on them from an abandoned factory. The Autobots then transformed to robot mode and mounted a counterattack against the Decepticons. Sideswipe deflected laser blasts with his swords as he sliced apart his attackers, while Sunstreaker fired blinding blasts of photons at Snare.

"Graargh! I can't see!" The Decepticon jet exclaimed as he fell from the sky and smashed into the ground.

"That's the point, Decepti-crap!" Sunstreaker retorted. Lugnut then flew over in his jet bomber mode and released his payload as he carpet bombed the Autobots, shouting,

"Your destruction shall rain from above, Autobots! For the glory of Lord Megatron!" However, a precise burst of missiles from Flak's launchers destroyed the bombs before they could reach the ground.

"Think again, Lugnut!" Flak replied. The Decepticon juggernaut then transformed to robot mode and landed with a 'THUD' on the hard, metal ground as the rest of his squadron joined him, and Kup and his Autobots battled them. Nearby, Blaster watched as the battle raged.

"There! Those Autobots look like they need some help, and I'm gonna give them some!" He decided to himself, then he transformed to vehicle mode and sped toward the battle. There, Kup fought Lugnut close up.

"You're getting slow, old timer-give up while you still can and surrender!" Lugnut growled as he swung his mace, but Kup swiftly dodged the attack and fired his automatic shotgun at Lugnut, who blocked the spray of shot with his wing shield.

"Not many 'bots my age are in this good a shape! It's not about age, but mileage, Lugnut!" Kup responded, defiantly, then he jumped and kicked Lugnut in the jaw. Suddenly, a car streaked in and slammed into Lugnut, transforming into a red, grey, and yellow, 'bot whose face was covered with a blue visor.

"Sic 'em!" Blaster called as he launched from his chest compartment five stereo speakers who then transformed into Steeljaw, Ramhorn, Rewind, Eject, and Stripes. The Autobots were in awe as Blaster and his scouts tore through the Decepticon ranks. Blaster fired his electro-scrambler at Skyquake, Steeljaw sliced and chomped through Vehicons, Ramhorn trampled and smashed over them, Rewind and Eject fired their blasters at Stalker, and Stripes launched missiles from his hip mounted launchers until Lugnut shouted,

"Decepticons, retreat!" as he transformed back to his jet bomber mode and the others followed. Kup watched as they departed from the battle, then he turned to Blaster. He then looked at his smudged, scratched badge.

"Brawn, book him!" He commanded, solemnly. Brawn then tackled Blaster while Siren handcuffed him, then he fired stun blasts at the five small scouts which hit their mark and made them transform back to stereo mode. "Blaster, you're under arrest for desertion." Kup spoke, sternly to his captive.

"A little 'you're welcome, Blaster' would've been nice. Besides, I have important information that Ultra Magnus needs to see!" Blaster replied.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of military justice." Kup said. He and his patrol made their way back to Iacon with their prisoners for processing. There, they were kept at Autobase Iacon's prison complex, better known as the 'Dark Heart'. At this facility are some of the worst criminals within the Autobot and the Decepticon factions, but are kept separate to keep them from fighting one another. Later, Kup went to report to Ultra Magnus the day's event's.

"Well sir, we finally caught him." Kup began his briefing.

"Caught who?" Ultra Magnus wondered. Kup then displayed a hologram of Blaster, his captive. "Blaster. It says he deserted about 50 stellar cycles ago. He didn't much care for rules and regulations. He even punched me in the face." Ultra Magnus recounted.

"He seemed to have been in the right place at the right time when we were fighting Lugnut and a squadron of Decepticons on the outskirts of Tetrahex. He told me about something you needed to hear." Kup replied.

* * *

In the meantime, thousands of light years away, another group of Autobots are faced with another challenge. Elita One's ship cruised in to a landing somewhere in the dense forests of the Canadian Shield. The hatch opened, and the crew of female Autobots' commander was the first to set foot on Earth's surface.

"Alright, ladies, transform to vehicle modes!" Elita said, and she transformed to her new Earth vehicle mode, an M1126 Stryker ICV. In quick succession, Chromia, Moonracer, Firestar, Velocity, Airazor, Lancer, and Nautica transformed into their vehicle modes, a Can-Am Spyder, a Dodge Viper, a Dodge Ram 3500 brush truck, a drag racer, an F-22 Raptor, A Gumpert Apollo, and an Audi R8, respectively. Nautica activated the ship's cloaking mechanism to allow it to turn invisible.

"The Ark is a few hundred kliks south, ma'am." Nautica reported as they got underway. At the Ark, Wheeljack was monitoring the movement of a cluster of energy signatures on Teletraan 1's viewscreen.

"Optimus, I'm picking up some energy signatures heading south towards us." He informed Optimus.

"Are they Decepticons?" Optimus asked Wheeljack.

"No, they're Autobots!" Wheeljack answered. Optimus was confused, the only Autobot energy signatures on Earth were those belonging to the crew of the Ark. How could more Autobots be on Earth?

"I'll prepare a team to investigate." Optimus said. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" Prowl, Smokescreen, Jazz, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Arcee, Skids, Hound, Huffer, Inferno, Cliffjumper, and Jetfire transformed to vehicle mode and raced toward the signals.

* * *

Back on Cybertron, Ultra Magnus, with Mirage, Gears, Siren, and Brawn as his escorts, went to the Autobase Iacon prison, where he then made the necessary arrangements to free Blaster and his scouts. "Blaster, I've heard from Kup that you have some information for me. Would you mind telling me that information?" The Autobot City Commander asked Blaster.

"That depends," Blaster replied "If I give you this information, I would like to be pardoned of all charges and readmitted to the Autobots." Ultra Magnus thought about this for a few minutes. Blaster could have information key to what Shockwave could be planning next. He had to hear it, Autobot lives depended on it.

"We'll see. Debrief me on the information you have stored on one of your scouts' hard drives, first. Then we can make deals." Ultra Magnus replied. Blaster then called up Steeljaw, who sauntered up to his master and transformed to stereo mode, then inserted himself in his chest compartment. Blaster flipped down his visor and projected from it Steeljaw's recordings. Ultra Magnus studied the recording intently, and it was of Shockwave's meeting with Strika after her return from the Paradron Space Bridge Research Station which had been pulled into a star. "I will take your requests into consideration, Blaster. Thank you." Ultra Magnus thanked him after the playback ended.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Earth, Blackout, the Insecticons, Dreadwing, and some jet vehicons were on patrol when he picked up some Autobot energy signatures on his scanners. "Lord Megatron, I'm picking up a cluster of Autobot energy signatures heading south." Blackout radioed the Nemesis.

"Intercept and destroy them!" Megatron replied.

"With pleasure, Milord. Decepticons, attack!" Blackout called, and the Decepticons swooped in to attack the unsuspecting Autobots down below.

"We've got company, Autobots, attack!" Elita One barked, and her crew scattered, then transformed to robot mode to fight back. Elita fired her twin handheld machine guns, Velocity fired her laser cutter cannon, and Airazor streaked in and strafed the Decepticons. Lancer ran a Vehicon through on her spear, then used it as a shield to block blaster fire from another and then shot him in the face. Blackout landed and then deployed his rotor saw, whirling its blades around so fast they acted as a shield, blocking any blaster fire towards him, then he turned them into a pair of swords with which he tried to strike Elita One, but she drew out her energy swords and dueled the Decepticon electronic warfare operator.

"Well, if it isn't Elita One! How'd you end up on this mudball?" Blackout said as they clashed. En route, the Autobots were notified by Wheeljack about a development.

"Optimus, I'm picking up Decepticon energy signatures near the cluster of Autobots, be on alert!" He radioed Optimus.

"Understood, Wheeljack." He replied. Optimus saw eight robots battling against a contingent of Decepticons on the horizon as they neared the U.S-Canada border, then his crew transformed to their robot modes to assist their comrades. Elita and Blackout locked their swords until Optimus charged into battle brandishing his sword and axe, then Blackout bolted around and dueled Optimus at the same time.

"Optimus!" Elita cried as she saw who had come to her rescue.

"I see you used the medallion." Optimus said as he and Elita dueled Blackout. Close by, Ironhide and Chromia stood back to back as they unleashed a torrent of firepower.

"It's nice bumping into you again, Ironhide!" Chromia said as she shot a Vehicon in the head.

"I know, and I see your aim is still as good as it was back on Cybertron!" Ironhide remarked as he fired his shotgun, which then blew another Vehicon out of the sky. Blackout and his Decepticons were taking heavy losses, and he called,

"Decepticons, retreat!", and they hastily withdrew from the battle. Once the smoke cleared, Optimus and Elita One could properly reacquaint themselves.

"Autobots, this is Elita One, commander of Amazon Squadron." Optimus introduced Elita One to the Autobots.

"We were sent by Kup to find you after they couldn't contact you ourselves. I owed him one." Elita explained.

"Kup... I know him from somewhere in the past. that is a name haven't heard in some time." Optimus said, thoughtfully. Elita One then turned and said to Nautica,

"Nautica, bring in the ship."

"Yes, ma'am." Nautica said, then she pressed a button on her forearm which sent a signal to start the ship. Within a few minutes, the Autobots had all boarded Elita One's ship and Optimus was guiding them to the Ark.

"We have made the best of our situation here on Earth, Elita. After crashing on this planet about forty two stellar cycles ago, we went into stasis to conserve energy after the crash. As a result, our subspace communicator was destroyed, and any means of contacting Cybertron." Optimus explained.

"We can help with that, Optimus." Elita replied. They then flew over the crash site of the Ark and set down, where Ratchet, Wheeljack, John Richard, Harris, and Jessica all came to see.

"Another spaceship? Who could it be this time?" John Richard wondered. His question was answered when the hatch opened and Optimus and Elita One stepped out. "Optimus!" The humans exclaimed. Elita One knelt down to examine the humans more closely.

"Awwww, they're so cute!" Elita cooed as she picked up Harris. "Are these your pets, Optimus."

"Pets!?" Harris spluttered. "Skids, can you catch me?"

"Gotcha!" Skids replied as Elita then placed Harris in Skids' hand.

"These are our human allies, who act as our ambassadors to the rest of this world's population. Their names are John Richard, Harris, and Jessica." Optimus explained to Elita. Optimus then took Elita and her crew inside the Ark. "Now that you have arrived, Elita, our priority is establishing a link with Cybertron. My engineer, Wheeljack, will no doubt be of good use to you."

"Right. Nautica, go with Wheeljack and help him get the subspace communicator online." Elita said. Nautica obediently joined Wheeljack in their objective to reestablish contact with Cybertron. The two engineers took long cables and ran them to the transmitter on Elita's ship, then connected them to Teletraan 1's core processor. While they worked, there seemed to be another connection made, one on a different level, but we'll see more of that later. Once the task was done and all the proper preparations made, Wheeljack announced,

"Autobots, history is in the making! We'll be in contact with Cybertron in three...two...one, hit it, Nautica!" Nautica threw a switch which completed the circuit of using the ship parked outside connected to Teletraan 1's transmitter to emit a powerful radio signal. Optimus, Elita, and all of the Autobots as well as the humans, watched and held their breath, hoping the signal would reach Cybertron.

"This is it, John Richard! We can finally contact Cybertron!" Bumblebee murmured excitedly to his friend.

"I know, I'm just as excited!" John Richard replied.

* * *

On Cybertron, Nightbeat ran to Ultra Magnus' office. "Ultra Magnus, come quickly! A transmission is coming through, from Optimus Prime!" He exclaimed. Ultra Magnus followed him to the command center, pushing their way through dozens of Autobots, then put the transmission through. Optimus Prime's face then appeared and an explosion of jubilant yelling erupted from the crowd. "Optimus, this is Ultra Magnus. Do you copy?" Ultra Magnus said. His voice was instantly carried thousands of light years beyond Cybertron to Earth, where Optimus then replied,

"Affirmative, Ultra Magnus. It is good to see you again, old friend. The Ark is no longer operational, and we are stranded on the planet Earth. What is the situation of the war back on Cybertron?" Optimus asked Ultra Magnus.

"Hi there!" John Richard, Harris, and Jessica interrupted. Ultra Magnus saw them and inquired,

"Um...Optimus, what are those...creatures?"

"They are our human allies, John Richard Ericsson, Harrison Clancey, and Jessica Banderleigh. Three of my crew have befriended them in hopes to act as ambassadors to the humans, the dominant life forms of this planet. Your report?" Optimus answered as he then shifted the subject.

"Ah, yes. We seem to be gaining the upper hand over the Decepticons on several of the active battlefronts across the planet, but there's a greater threat on the rise. Shockwave and Megatron are planning a massive assault on this 'Earth' as well, and to do it, they're building a space bridge to send a Decepticon army across!" Ultra Magnus answered. The Autobots and humans gasped. Megatron was now going for broke, and the Autobots stood little chance of stopping him.

"Do what you can to disrupt their operations on Cybertron, Ultra Magnus. My Autobots and I will do what we can as well. Until next time, old friend, Till all are one." Optimus replied.

"Till all are one." The Autobots echoed, and the transmission ended.

* * *

On Cybertron, Shockwave was now at the construction site of the space bridge and was in communication with Megatron. "Lord Megatron, I am pleased to report that the space bridge's construction is ahead of schedule." Shockwave reported to Megatron.

"Excellent, Shockwave. I knew I could count on your talents to complete this project in time. The Autobots are building up their strength on Earth. Just this cycle, the Autobots gained eight new warriors, the infamous Amazon Squadron, commanded by Elita One." Megatron continued.

"The Autobots' increase is nothing compared to number of Decepticons I am currently mobilizing. As we speak, I have an entire legion of troops waiting to deploy to Earth." Shockwave said. "The Autobots stand no chance." The transmission then ended. "And neither do you, Megatron." Shockwave said to himself as he then turned and watched as the gleaming form of the space bridge took shape...


	13. Best kept secret

**Elita One and her crew of Autobots have arrived on Earth in search of Optimus Prime and the Ark. After successfully making contact with Cybertron for the first time in over forty stellar cycles, Ultra Magnus delivers grave news to Optimus of Megatron and Shockwave's plan to build a space bridge and launch an assault on Earth with a Decepticon army...**

* * *

Elita One and her crew were beginning to settle in with Optimus and the Ark's crew. Some of the spare racks in the barracks were taken to one of the storage bays in the Ark to make separate accommodations for Elita's crew. Optimus was monitoring Teletraan 1's viewscreen for signs of Decepticon activity when Elita walked up to him. "Hi, Optimus. Is something bothering you?" She asked him as she sat down next to him. Optimus paused for a moment.

"Ultra Magnus' news. We now know that the Decepticons are preparing to mount an assault on Earth. Billions of innocent lives hang in the balance." Optimus replied, gravely. Elita wished she could understand what Optimus felt and help him. "It's in times like this which I hearken back to the days of our youth." Optimus said. "When we..were in love."

"Of course. How could I forget?" Elita One said, and this is the story which Optimus told her.

* * *

The Cybertronian Civil War had now been raging for more than 1,000 stellar cycles. The Decepticons were steadily attacking and conquering other planets across the galaxy, committing atrocious acts of genocide against organic populations, and the only ones who could stop them were the Autobots under the newly christened Optimus Prime. Optimus, with his lieutenants Ultra Magnus and Prowl, as well as Master Sergeant Kup, were entrenched in a battle against the Decepticon Warlord Saberclash on the planet Burtonus-Gamma for control of a vital shipping route from Cybertron to the Lambda Sector, an Autobot-held section of space, and under his command, was Amazon Squadron, thought it had yet to gain its fame as the Autobots' first all-fembot special forces unit. The campaign was divided into two fronts, one in space, and the other on the planet's s surface. Optimus, with Prowl's help, directed the ground assault, with Kup as the senior NCO in command on the front lines, while Ultra Magnus and Captain Broadside directed the battle in space above. On the ground, Kup lead his Autobots into battle. He fired his shotgun, blasting apart Vehicons, while Nighbeat fired his twin pistols whose plasma bolts tore through a tank Vehicon's chest. "Keep at it, lads, charge!" Kup called, valiantly. The Autobots heeded their sergeant's commands as they rolled through the Decepticon opposition surrounding Saberclash's fortress. Within the fortress' walls, a Vehicon trooper ran to Saberclash's war room.  
"Milord, the Autobots are breaking through our defenses!" He reported, gravely. Saberclash, a yellow, white, and grey 'bot with a cape of wings, replied,

"Send all available units to repel the assault! That's the only reasonable thing to do to protect my lavish fortress." Saberclash, a former Cybertronian noble, was obsessed with his status and wanted to stand out among the ranks of the various Decepticon warlords who answered directly to Megatron. His

"Yes, Milord!" the Vehicon replied as he then changed to vehicle mode and drove away. The battle outside the fortress raged as the Autobots laid siege to Saberclash's stronghold. Kup, Nightbeat, Brawn, Windcharger, Sizzle, Guzzle, Fizzle, Downshift, Camshaft, Overdrive, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Silverbolt, Cavalier, Heavy Tread, Skystriker, Sandbag, and many others mowed down the Decepticons. Saberclash watched this on a viewscreen as he pressed a button. From a cruiser in space, a cluster of discs deployed, unnoticed by the Autobots, then as they entered the atmosphere they transformed into massive robots, landing on the surface of the planet with a thunderous crash as they then deployed their turbolaser cannons and opened fire on the Autobots below.

"Look out, Titanium-Class Destruction Drones-urrrraggh!" An Autobot soldier exclaimed as he was blasted to pieces. Kup saw that the Decepticons were pushing back, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. He radioed Optimus at his forward command center,

"Optimus, we've got a problem! Titanium-Class Destruction Drones are mowin' us down!" He said, urgently.

"Understood, Kup. I will join you with reinforcements, momentarily." Optimus replied. "Elita One, come in. Meet me at these coordinates and take me to the front lines." Above the planet, in the midst of the raging space battle, Elita One, a dark red, orange, and pink fembot replied to Optimus' transport.

"We're on our way, Optimus!" Elita replied, confidently.

"Be careful, Elita." Optimus replied to his lover as he gazed into her eyes, and Elita into his.

"I can take care of myself!" Elita chuckled, then she signed off her transmission with Optimus and switched comm channels to Ultra Magnus.

"Elita, status report! How close are you to breaking through the blockade?" Ultra Magnus asked from the bridge of Broadside's flagship, the _Battlestar_.

"Well, seeing as how Optimus needs us on the surface, we're almost through. Just one more Decepti-cruiser in our way and we'll be home free!" Elita replied.

"We're running out of time!" Ultra Magnus said urgently as he wobbled, the ship shuddered from an impact of proton torpedoes.

"And shields!" Broadside added. Elita signed off her transmitter once again and then said to her crew,

"Buckle up, ladies!" Elita said. She then turned to the ship's pilot, Greenlight and said, "Hit it!"

"With pleasure!" Greenlight said as she gunned the thrusters and diverted all remaining auxiliary power to the weapons and shields, then swirled through the battle as Chromia, Airazor, Firestar, and Novastar operated the ship's turrets as they shot down any and every Decepticon fighter which swooped down upon the ship. Elita then took control of the primary weapons console as they approached the last Decepticon cruiser in the blockade, arming the ship's turbo cannons and preparing to fire. Aboard the Decepticon ship, a Vehicon exclaimed to the ship's captain,

"Captain, an Autobot ship is closing at attack speed!"

"Divert all power to forward shields!" The Captain replied, but it was too late as Elita squeezed the trigger and two beams of scarlet energy spewed from two cannon pods on the ship's wingtips and hit the ship right in the fuel tanks, causing millions of astroliters of high grade Energon to detonate in a tremendous explosion, ripping the cruiser apart.

"Boom! Score one for the girls back home!" Novastar cheered from her gun turret.

"Where?! I didn't see it!" Firestar butted in.

"How could you have missed it, sis?" Novastar chuckled to her sister. Ultra Magnus and Broadside shielded their eyes from the brilliant flash of light given off in the explosion, and smiled.

"Broadside, ready the drop ships and take command." Ultra Magnus said as he walked off the bridge.

"Right away, Magnus." Broadside replied. Elita One landed at Optimus' forward command post, where he and Prowl then joined Elita One aboard their ship with a detachment of Autobot soldiers.

* * *

Back on the battlefield, Kup's troops were being massacred by the massive Decepticon drones. "Come on, Prime! We're counting on you!" Kup muttered to himself as he blasted a Vehicon through the chest, then he jumped and changed to vehicle mode to dodge an incoming blast from one of the drones' hand cannons when suddenly another turbo cannon blast blew the drone's head off. Kup raised his head to see Elita One's ship, and in it, Optimus, Prowl and a squad of Autobots prepared to jump using null field generators.

"Good luck, Optimus!" Elita radioed Optimus.

"I have courage instead." Optimus replied, stoically. Elita One enjoyed listening to Optimus' smooth voice. It filled her with joy to fight alongside Cybertron's greatest warrior. "Let's roll." Optimus continued as he was the first of the Autobots including Prowl, Kick Off, Jackpot, Powerflash, Rad, Skyfall, Sureshot, Crosshairs, Pointblank, Dogfight, Backstreet, and Override to leap from the ship's hatch and plummet to the battlefield below.

"Happy landings, Prime!" Novastar called.

"Where we droppin', boys?" Kick off wondered as they fell through the air.

"The real question is, what are we droppin?" chimed Crosshairs as Dogfight then answered,

"Decepticons, that's what!" As he streaked past them, then he unleashed a burst of machine gun fire and tore through one drone's torso and out of its chest, then transforming to robot mode where he then fired his rotary cannons, which blew the drone's head to pieces and it fell the ground. Optimus and his squad of Autobots then landed on the ground, where Kup then joined him.

"Kup, was I absent for any of the battle?" He asked the sergeant

" No, actually, the battle started when you landed, sir!" Kup responded, jokingly.

"AUTOBOTS, CHARGE!" Optimus roared as he lead his forces into battle. With his sword and axe, Optimus tore through the hordes of Decepticons when a Vehicon lobbed a grenade at him. Prowl saw this and ran to Optimus

"Look out, Optimus!" He shouted, then he dove in front of Optimus and deflected the grenade back at the Vehicons, who were then destroyed when it exploded. Optimus then helped Prowl to his feet as he firmly grasped his right hand and pulled him to his fee, then he dusted himself off.

"Come, old friend, victory is at hand!" he encouraged his lieutenant. The Autobots stormed the fortress and slew any Decepticons who opposed them until Saberclash finally decided to take matters into his own hands, but waited for the Autobots to come to him. That time came soon enough when the doors to his throne room were blasted open and his Elite Vehicon guards were easily dispatched by Optimus, Kup, and Prowl.

"Hey, Saberclash, do yourself a favor and come quietly. It'll save us the hassle." Kup offered Saberclash the opportunity to surrender.

"As if I were to yield so easily to mere Autobots? I'll come quietly when you're scooping up my shattered fragments, and watch the floor, that's Burtonic Granite tile!" Saberclash retorted as he leaped from his throne and drew out his swords with which he clashed against Optimus while more Elite Vehicons joined him to do battle against the intruders. Two of them charged at Kup, rifle-blades in hand, but a quick blast of his shotgun ripped one apart, then he stole his shield which he then cleaved through the other's neck and sinking into the wall, severing his head from its body. Close by, Prowl blocked rifle-blade strikes with his shield, then while the Decepticons were distracted, blasted them with his shoulder cannons.

"Your skills with a sword are the stuff of legends, Prime, it's a pity that legend will be all that's left of you!" Saberclash taunted as he jumped into the air, changed to jet mode, and soared into the sky to deal death and destruction to the Autobots below, but before he could, Elita One's ship slammed into him.

"Oh, Optimus, missing something?" Elita asked him, sweetly over the comm as she watched with amusement as Saberclash stuck to the glazing of the ship's cockpit in robot mode, dazed and confused.

"Affirmative. Return our new prisoner so that we may now end this battle and secure control of this world." Optimus replied. Then, Saberclash regained his awareness of what was going on around him and then he punched through the glass, taking a shard of it and driving it into her head, straight between her optics. With the pilot dead, the ship nosed up, then stalled and began to dive steeply. Optimus watched in horror as Elita's ship spiraled out of control, trying vigorously to contact her, but he received no reply.

"Greenlight, no!" Elita exclaimed as she watched her pilot die, then Chromia got up from her chair and fired at Saberclash with her twin pistols, but with his swords he deflected the shots and sliced one of her pistols in two and prepared to strike her down when Elita tackled him against one of the ship's control stations next to the window, allowing Chromia to fire at Saberclash, but missed her aim and instead hit the glass again.  
"You missed me, Autobot!" Chromia smirked, and suddenly, Saberclash was yanked through the hole by a fierce air current as he dragged Elita through it, but Chromia caught her commander and pulled her back in, distracting her from the real threat as Saberclash then sliced apart panels on two of the ship's seven thrusters, sending a trail of smoke and flames billowing from the craft as it plummeted to the surface of the planet, then he transformed to jet mode to spectate the crash as he chortled to himself,

"The solar cycle is still young, so why stop at one Autobot?" Elita and Chromia ran to the controls where Elita then clutched the control sticks, struggling to level the ship out. The rest of the crew ran to the aid of their captain to find her fighting for control of the ship.

"Brace for impact!" Elita exclaimed, and the Autobots heeded their captain's orders as they then braced themselves for the inevitable crash. Elita was able to level the ship out, and she bellied the stricken vessel onto the golden-brown Burtonian soil. The ship hit the ground and skidded across the dirt as pieces of flaming debris ripped and tore off of the ship, then it ricocheted off of a boulder, tearing a wing section off of the ship and violently jostling the Autobots inside about, sending Novastar slamming into the wall as the ship finally slid to a halt. "Novastar!" Firestar cried as she ran to her sister's aid. Elita was able to get to her feet and asked what was left of his crew,

"Is everybody else okay?" She then heard Firestar weeping as she held Novastar's hand. "Firestar, what's wrong?" She then looked to see a terrible gash across Novastar's face and was horrified.

"Please...Elita...help me." The dying Autobot gasped as Firestar held her dying sister in her hands. "Promise me one thing, Firestar; Make sure that I'm Saberclash's last victim." Then, her spark was extinguished, and her lifeless hull collapsed in her hands. Firestar then sobbed as she held her sister's corpse in her arms as she stared into the black, soulless pits which used to be her eyes.

"Come on, Firestar, pull yourself together! We've got to make our stand here and now!" Elita said with determination, then a grey, yellow, and white jet soared above them and changed into the robot mode of Saberclash.

"And your stand here will be your last!" He purred.

"You're going to pay for what you've done, Saberclash!" Elita roared and the remnant of her crew charged into battle to exact retribution from Saberclash for the death of their comrades.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the remnants of the fortress, Optimus, Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Prowl were all gathered around a makeshift hologram projector. "During our battle against Saberclash and his guards, Elita One and her crew captured Saberclash, but I was unable to communicate with her ship." Optimus briefed them, then he projected a map of the terrain and pointed to a beacon. "According to our orbital scanners, the signal of Elita's ship was last pinpointed here before going offline completely."

"So are you going to lead a rescue mission to save her?" Prowl asked.

"Indeed. We must bring back the fugitive Saberclash to Cybertron to be tried for his war crimes." It was then that Ultra Magnus then pulled Optimus aside.

"Optimus, I don't know if you're the right 'bot to lead this mission, and don't think I don't know about you and Elita." Ultra Magnus advised, solemnly. Despite Optimus outranking him, Ultra Magnus was much more experienced in military matters, and knew of his relationship with Elita One and the dangers it could bring to their chances of success.

"Elita One and I have talked on this issue. We share a different relationship during operations than we do on downtime." Optimus explained. Ultra Magnus still wasn't sure of this as Optimus then began to mobilize the Autobots to begin the search. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" Optimus boomed as he and the Autobots changed to vehicle mode and began the search for Elita One and her crew. However, close by, a Decepticon spy was lurking about. A small robot recorded everything and he then radioed to his fellow Decepticon,

"Boys, this is it. The Autobots can lead us straight to the boss."

"Excellent work, Cyberwarp. We'll be joining you in a few kliks." Replied his master, a communicator named Archive. Archive was among the Decepticons who had escaped the Autobot attack on the fortress and fled to a smaller outpost to the east. "Decepticons, mobilize!" The dark red, black, and green Decepticon commanded as he transformed to his self-propelled missile launcher mode, while his fellow Decepticons Hardtop, Brushguard, Crumplezone, Raze, Bonesaw, Storm Surge, and some of their Vehicon troopers then changed to vehicle mode to pursue the Autobots.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the crash site of Elita One's ship, Elita and her crew attacked Saberclash from all sides, blitzing him with blaster fire, plasma bolts, and grenades, yet the Decepticon warlord wasn't so easily beaten. He connected his swords together to create a double bladed sword, then he grabbed a hilt off of his belt, which then became an energy sword. Using his three blades, he then deflected the team's blasts, but Elita was undaunted by Saberclash as she then grabbed off her back a pair of energy swords of her own, except these also had ax blades build into the handles. Elita and Saberclash swung and struck their blades against one another. Elita channeled all of her raw fury and hatred into defeating Saberclash, and with a single swing of her swords she disarmed her opponent and then gouged into his shoulder with the ax blade on one of her swords. The searing pain of tearing metal rippled through Saberclash's body, "Urrrgh...well, would you look at that! I'm bleeding!" He chuckled to himself.  
"I'd put you out of your misery, but that would be a waste of ammo." Elita snarled, and it was then that Firestar shot him with a stun blast.

"We don't have any stasis cuffs. Energy ropes should do the trick." She said as she set about restraining their captive.

"Good work, team. I'll try and get the transmitter working so we can send a signal to Optimus so he can find us, and if it doesn't work, Airazor, get airborne and try to find the others. Lancer, patch up our guest. He's got to look his best for when he's being tried for his war crimes back on Cybertron." Elita issued orders to her crew. A few hours later, the sun had set and the planet's moons then shone down upon surface, bathing it in silvery, green light. By then, Saberclash had awoken from his temporary stasis and saw that his hands and feet had been bound with energy ropes, as well as a mode lock placed on his back where he couldn't reach it.

"Where am I? Oh, great, you again." Saberclash muttered. "You really think you're making a difference, don't you, Elita? What you've gained here means nothing! For every world that falls to the Autobots, the Decepticons conquer a hundred more!" He boasted. Elita One turned and scowled at the Decepticon.

"This isn't about conquest. It's about stopping you murderers from taking innocent lives and destroying our homeworld with your misguided ambitions!" She snapped, fiercely. Saberclash then saw something on the horizon to the east. It appeared to be his Decepticons.

"Haha! The tables have turned!" He murmured to himself, "Oh, Elita. You might want to watch your flank!" he told Elita. Elita turned around and there, advancing on the Autobots' shipwreck was Saberclash's Decepticons.

"Here we go again. Firestar, guard the prisoner! We'll take care of our company!" She ordered as she and her exhausted crew engaged the Decepticons. Archive spotted Saberclash being guarded by Firestar in the shipwreck, where he said,  
"There's Lord Saberclash! Decepticons, attack!" But, Airazor took flight in her jet fighter mode and strafed the Decepticons as well as launching volleys of unguided rockets which blasted several Vehicons to pieces. Chromia and Lancer fought Crumplezone, taking turns punching him in the face and kicking him in the back.

"Even two of you are no match for me!" Crumplezone declared as fired his shoulder mounted plasma beam cannons which burned black streaks through the soil.

"Got room for a third?" Moonracer said as she zoomed in and transformed from her motorcycle mode, jumped into the air and blasted the Decepticon's weapons apart, then he toppled over.

"Of course. The more the merrier!" Chromia answered. Elita One ripped through the Decepticon advance as she cleaved two Vehicons' heads off with one swing of her swords, then slashed off another's blaster arm. She was focused and calm, her thoughts clear as crystal during the intense battle. In the wreck, Saberclash was quite content as he watched the battle unfold, then he had a plan. Using a jagged piece of wreckage, he discreetly put his hands over it and began to slowly, carefully saw at the energy ropes binding his hands and feet until then broke, allowing him to stand up and he punched Firestar in the face, knocking her out. He then picked up his two swords and energy blade, where he then changed to jet mode and flew to the battle. Elita drove her sword into a Vehicon's chest, and as she did, she looked into the air and saw Saberclash streaking in as he spotted his target, then changed to robot mode and slammed into Elita, where they then dueled once more. By now, Elita was becoming exhausted, as was apparent in her attacks, but during the fight, she disarmed him of his energy sword, yet he still fought on. With a swing of his sword, he lodged its blade into Elita's shoulder.

"Argh!" She exclaimed, dropping her swords as she then covered her wound, then she fell to ground. Saberclash then stood over her, victorious in the fight.

"There will be no justice, Autobot, only death!"

"And I pick death!" Called a familiar voice. Saberclash turned around and then Kup ran him through with his energy blade. Elita's eyes widened as she saw that Kup, Optimus, Ultra Magnus, and Prowl had come to rescue her and her crew.

"Optimus!" Elita one said as Optimus came and helped her to her feet. He then looked at her grievous wound.

"Elita, are you alright?" Optimus asked her, gently.

"I'll live once I get patched up, but I have two casualties that need to be attended to. Novastar and Greenlight bought it." Elita replied, mournfully. Once the Decepticons had been routed from the planet, Elita One and her crew returned to Cybertron, where they met Nautica, a freighter pilot. She bought Nautica's ship for a modest price and it became known as the Novastar in memory of Firestar's fallen sister. Amazon Squadron then went on to become famous for their acts of heroism in the face of certain death.

* * *

Optimus and Elita remembered these times after he finished telling her the story. "You know, Optimus, maybe I jumped the gun when we broke up. Let me see that handsome face of yours." Elita purred. Optimus obligingly retracted his faceplate, and underneath it was his mouth and chin, then the two puckered up and kissed until _Careless Whisper_ by George Michael could be heard playing. The couple turned around and saw Jazz playing the music.

"Is that necessary, Jazz?" Optimus asked.

"Absolutely not, but I did it anyway. Now, I've ruined the moment." Jazz replied as he left.

* * *

Meanwhile, aboard the Nemesis, Megatron waited in the hangar with Soundwave and Starscream until a portal of swirling green and blue energy ripped open and disgorged seven Decepticons, Shockwave, Scrapper, Long Haul, Mixmaster, Hook, Bonecrusher, and Scavenger.

"I see the space bridge is a success. Welcome to Earth, Shockwave" Megatron said.

"And a resounding one at that." Shockwave added. "However, unassisted, the portal can only stay open for a few nanocycles at a time. To bridge our army across we must construct a receiver to stabilize the vortex."

"Indeed. We're the Constructicons, and you can bet it'll be done. There's nothing we can't build for you, Lord Megatron." Scrapper chimed in.

"Excellent, the final phase of my plan to conquer Earth has begun." Megatron purred. The final phase of Megatron's plan was now beginning to unfold, but as was Shockwave's...


	14. Temporary Setbacks

**Shockwave has completed the construction of his space bridge on Cybertron and has successfully bridged himself and six of his top engineers to Earth. With Megatron almost ready to begin the assault on Kansas city, final preparations are being made, including the construction of a space bridge receiver to allow Megatron to bring across vast legions of Decepticons and finally defeat Optimus Prime. However, the Autobots, now in contact with Cybertron, prepare to launch an assault of their own on the Decepticons as they prepare to build a space bridge receiver, but an unforeseen threat looms before Optimus Prime...**

* * *

Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron and Shockwave were in contact with Straxus over the subspace communicator. "Lord Megatron, we are beginning final assembly of the prefabricated components in Polyhex and will begin transporting them to Kaon." Straxus reported.

"Excellent, Straxus. There can be no delays in the completion of this project." Megatron said, urgently. "The longer we wait, the longer the Autobots can be preparing a preemptive strike."

"I will see to it that the Autobots do not interfere with the delivery of the space bridge components to Kaon, Lord Megatron." Straxus replied.

"I would definitely hope so, for your sake, Governor." Megatron growled as he then signed off of the subspace communicator. Meanwhile, light years away, their transmission was being monitored by Blaster and his scouts. At a Decepticon communications relay post somewhere in Polyhex, Blaster was tapping into the Decepticon communications network, while Ramhorn, in his audio mixing board mode, was amplifying the signal and transmitting it back to Autobase Iacon. In the command center, Nightbeat and Ultra Magnus were analyzing the transmission.

"Hmm. The Decepticons are going for it. I'll mobilize a strike force to intercept." Ultra Magnus told Blaster.

"Right O, I'll stay here and keep monitoring Decepticon transmissions." Blaster replied and he signed off his communicator. Back at Autobase Iacon, Ultra Magnus assembled Nightbeat, Hosehead, Siren, Kup, Perceptor, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Mirage, Bluestreak, Trailbreaker, Red Alert, Brawn, Gears, Pipes, Flak, Sidetrack, Sunrunner, Big Shot, Silverbolt, Skydive, Air Raid, Fireflight, and Slingshot and soon were on their way out of Iacon in the Autobot flier Powerglide's drop ship. From Iacon, Ultra Magnus' plan was to intercept the Decepticons in an ambush on their way from Polyhex to Kaon in the Kaon Highlands, a rugged area of terrain through which the main road between Polyhex and Kaon passes through, which would be a tremendous, but no doubt a calculated risk. The dropship landed on a rugged cliff overlooking the road and Ultra Magnus and his Autobots disembarked.

"Powerglide, keep the ship on standby."

"Roger that, Magnus." Powerglide replied. Ultra Magnus then turned to Silverbolt.

"Silverbolt, help Kup and a team of Autobots over to the other side of the pass." He told him.

"Sure thing!" Silverbolt replied, enthusiastically as he changed to jet mode, then Kup and a few of the Autobots jumped onto their wings as they quickly flew over to the other side of pass, where there they hid, only occasionally peeking up from their hiding spots to look for signs of the Decepticon convoy. Several hours passed until Kup looked into his binoculars and he saw heading towards them a convoy of Decepticon transports with air support. It was roughly ten hover transports long with defensive gun batteries on both ends of the train, while armored gun carriers flanked it.

"Magnus, I see them. The convoy is coming!" He radioed Ultra Magnus. An air of suspense descended on the Autobots as they anticipated the battle to come. They knew that if the convoy reached Kaon, their friends on Earth would have no chance of defeating Megatron.

"On my signal, Kup..." Ultra Magnus replied. "Get ready, Autobots. Flak, take out their air support." The Autobots on both sides of the pass prepared to ambush the Decepticons. The convoy drew ever closer to the Autobots, waiting to pounce on them, until it was right beneath them. Flak took aim and the air Vehicons providing top cover were all blown out of the sky with a salvo of rockets. "ATTACK!" Ultra Magnus roared to the Autobots, and from both sides of the pass Ultra Magnus, Kup, and the Autobots leaped off of the cliffs overlooking the pass and began their attack on the convoy.

"Autobots!" Exclaimed a Vehicon before Brawn came crashing down on him, then Sideswipe landed next to him, deflecting fire from others and swiftly cutting them down, while Sunstreaker landed and fired a burst of lasers from his pistol. Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Nightbeat landed together and once the transport was cleared of Decepticons, they began to plan their strategy.

"They can rebuild more of the rest of these receiver components, but it'll take some time to replace the power core, and that's the part we'll destroy!" Perceptor then projected a diagram of the convoy's manifest, and on the last transport was the power core. "Kup, Nightbeat, put these charges on the core. We'll distract the Decepticons up front." Ultra Magnus quickly briefed the Autobots of the plan. On another transport, Flak and Trailbreaker landed and engaged the Vehicon security troops.

"Hey fellas, are you enjoying the ride?" Trailbreaker asked the guards, who then opened fire with their blasters, but the dark grey and red Autobot projected from his hands an amber energy shield, then Flak emerged from behind the shield whilst the Decepticons were busily firing at Trailbreaker and finished his question as he said,

"Because we're having a blast!" As he fired a precise blast of rockets which blew them to bits. Trailbreaker then turned to Flak and facepalmed at his quip.

"No, just...no." he muttered. Meanwhile, Silverbolt and his squad flew overhead, providing cover for their fellow Autobots as they attacked the defenses of the convoy. Silverbolt dropped strings of cluster bombs which blew apart one of the armored transports, while Fireflight shot a lick of flame which nearly melted through another's armor plating causing it to glow red hot.

"Hey Air Raid, now that this one's softened up, you wanna land the finishing blow?" He called to his friend.

"You know it!" Air Raid replied enthusiastically, then he fired a missile which punched straight through the red hot metal and detonated inside the transport, blasting it to pieces in a shower of sparks. Kup and Nightbeat saw this as they fought their way to the back of the convoy to the power core. They finally arrived on the last transport which housed the power core for the receiver.

"Autobots! Stop them!" Shouted a Vehicon sergeant as his squad opened fire, but Kup and Nightbeat quickly dispatched them. They then laid their receptors on the power core.

"A hypermatter reactor core. One little spark, and till all within a hundred megamile radius are one." Nightbeat said, grimly.

"Get your transmission in drive and help me set these charges, kid!" Kup barked, and the two Autobots quickly armed and set the charges. On the lead hover transport of the convoy, a Vehicon reported to Onslaught,

"Sir, Autobots are attacking! They came out of nowhere and are over running the convoy! They're splitting up, some are coming to the front, and the others are going to the back-to the power core. "

"Inform the rest of the security detail to disengage and fall back to the last two transports. The Mayhem Attack Squad and I will lure them into a trap. Perhaps the Autobots will surrender with their friends in danger." Onslaught replied.

"Yes sir!" The Vehicon said, obediently. Onslaught and his Mayhem Attack Squad had been tasked by Straxus to protect, the convoy of space bridge reciever components on their way to Kaon, which would be bridged over to Earth for Shockwave to assemble. Across the convoy, Vehicons fighting the Autobots were informed and they disengaged.

"What's happening?" Wondered Kup as he blasted one with his shotgun, sending it flying off the side of the transport and disintegrating.

"Autobots, regroup at my position. We've got to concentrate our attack on the command transport!" Ultra Magnus radioed the rest of the Autobots. Heeding his orders, the other Autobots spread out across the transports which compromised the convoy converged on Ultra Magnus' position on the fourth transport from the front, and while they were, Perceptor took his time to analyze the space bridge components for himself. The Autobots then regrouped with Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Nightbeat and they then continued to advance to the command transport, but Onslaught and the Mayhem Attack Squad were waiting for them. The third transport was empty, but they reached the last two, the Decepticons launched a fierce counterattack. Vehicons jumped out from behind crates and boxes and opened fire on the Autobots as they were joined in the counterattack by Onslaught and the Mayhem Attack Squad.

"Destroy them!" Onslaught roared to the Decepticons as a firefight broke out. Onslaught charged forward and tackled Ultra Magnus. "Ultra Magnus! You were...bothering me!" He murmured as the two hefty warriors slugged it out. Ultra Magus threw a quick sequence of punches, knocking Onslaught off of him so that he could get up, then he grabbed his hammer and prepared to strike, but the Decepticon general recovered and grappled with him, then Ultra Magnus headbutted Onslaught away. "Face it, Magnus, you've lost! When Lord Megatron gets this space bridge receiver on Earth, the Autobots are finished! Optimus Prime will stand no chance!" Onslaught taunted Ultra Magnus arrogantly.

"Not if I have anything to say about it! Kup, hit the charges!" Ultra Magnus smirked. Kup followed his commander's order and pressed a button on a remote detonator, but nothing happened. There was no explosion.

"Kup, what just happened?" Ultra Magnus asked, somewhat worried.

"I don't know!" Kup replied, frantically as he mashed the button multiple times.

"Stupid Autobots! Your puny little bombs won't stop us! Destroy them!" Onslaught shouted, then the Vehicons turned to the Autobots and opened fire. Ultra Magnus and the Autobots ran back across the convoy and quickly regrouped.

"Kup, Nightbeat, hold the Decepticons back. Trailbreaker, follow me." Ultra Magnus said. Trailbreaker followed Ultra Magnus as he ran to the back of the convoy.

"Stop them!" Onslaught called to the Decepticons, but Kup replied,

"Oh, no you don't! Take 'em!" The Autobots opened fire and a firefight ensued as the Autobots fought to keep the Decepticons at bay. In the chaos, Onslaught ran after Ultra Magnus and Trailbreaker to stop them. The two Autobots scrambled to the back of the convoy and onto the last transport. Ultra Magnus was about to blast the energy coupling between the two transports when Onslaught roared up to them in his tank mode with his turret guns blazing. Trailbreaker quickly projected a force field over himself and Ultra Magnus to stop the blasts, then he smashed into the shield, knocking him back. Trailbreaker then set to work as he tried to hack into the locks to the stabilizing clamps holding the power core down, but it was no good.

"Scrap!" He growled. Onslaught finally got up and he battled Ultra Magnus. Each opponent landed brutal punches against one another, until Ultra Magnus grabbed his hammer and swung it, smashing the Decepticon general away, buying him enough time to then blast the energy coupling and the transport floated away from the rest of the convoy. Then, Trailbreaker finally was able to unlock the clamps.

"Magnus, I got it!" He exclaimed. Ultra Magnus then took two missiles off his shoulder pods and attached them to the power core, then with a wrist control panel he activated the missiles' thrusters, which rocketed the power core into the air. The Autobots and Decepticons, in their fighting, paused as they saw it flying into the sky.

"No!" Onslaught shouted, and Ultra Magnus then pressed another button on his wrist, detonating the missiles. A blinding light burst in the sky as the power core exploded and a shower of sparks and debris twinkled down.

"Autobots, mission accomplished!" Ultra Magnus radioed all of the Autobots. The Autobots quickly retreated as they jumped off of the convoy and changed to vehicle mode, then drove to Ultra Magnus and Trailbreaker's position.

"We did it! WE DID IT!" Kup cheered as he transformed to robot mode. The Autobots then threw a party for their accomplishment, but had no idea that their troubles had only just begun...

* * *

The space bridge opened up aboard the Nemesis and through it came the space bridge receiver components, where Megatron and Shockwave came to oversee their delivery. Onslaught and the Mayhem Attack Squad carried them through.

"Onslaught, despite the loss of the receiver's power core, I trust the rest of the receiver components have arrived safely intact, have they not?" Megatron purred.

"Y-Y-Yes, Lord Megatron." Onslaught replied, sheepishly.

"Excellent. Shockwave, begin assembly of the space bridge receiver immediately." Megatron said as he turned to his special projects officer.

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Shockwave replied, obediently. He then sent a transmission on a private frequency to Archforce.

"Archforce, the protocol will activate in 72 hours." He murmured.

"Affirmative, commander." Archforce replied, signing off. However, the two's transmission was not as confidential as they thought as Soundwave monitored all transmissions on the ship...


	15. Shockwaves

**Despite the loss of the power core, the Decepticons have set to work assembling their space bridge receiver.** **With their connection to Cybertron restored, the Autobot factions under the command of Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus are now working together on two fronts to disrupt the Decepticons' efforts to bridge across legions of troops to devastate Earth...**

* * *

Optimus and Elita One were speaking with Ultra Magnus on the matter of the Decepticons' plans over the subspace communicator. "After my forces attacked a Decepticon convoy heading for Kaon, we destroyed the power core of the space bridge receiver they're trying to build on Earth. We figured that they could replace the rest of the components too easily to make a difference. It's going to take some time for them to find a new power source." Ultra Magnus reported. Under his command, Ultra Magnus' Autobots had been rolling back the Decepticons on Cybertron and across the galaxy. Several major city states such as Kallis, Perex, Raddix, and Nuon. An entire sector of Decepticon space in the Eta Quadrant had been taken back, cutting off shipping lines between two more Decepticon sectors already under siege by the Autobots. Because of these gains morale was soaring, especially with the confirmation that Optimus Prime was still alive and his crew were fighting Megatron and his Decepticons.

"Then perhaps that can buy us more time to build up our strength." Elita One replied.

"Indeed. Continue your operations against the Decepticons' infrastructure and resources. We will work to neutralize the Decepticon threat here on Earth." Optimus replied, and he signed off of the communicator. Meanwhile, in orbit above Earth, Shockwave was overseeing the assembly of the space bridge receiver, and it was already nearing completion. The Constructicons had finished the assembling the receiver's superstructure and were now fitting the machinery necessary for its operation. Shockwave had a plan to power the receiver without the core after the attack by Ultra Magnus' Autobots. He knew that the Autobots would try to cripple his power source, but he had a backup plan. Shockwave always had a backup plan.

" Scrapper, once the receiver is complete, we will utilize the reactor core of this ship as its power source after the original power core was destroyed on Cybertron."

"At once, Commander." Scrapper replied, and he and his Constructicons set to work at once making the necessary preparations. Megatron and Starscream came to check on Shockwave's supervision of the project.

"Lord Megatron, the space bridge receiver's final assembly is ahead of schedule. I lack only a few necessary components to successfully link the reactor core of the ship to the power conduits of the receiver." Shockwave reported. Megatron was impressed with Shockwave, as usual. Shockwave had been the chief of operations for the Decepticons' Special Weapons Division back on Cybertron, building many weapons to terrorize Autobot forces across the galaxy, and this would be the next in that long line. Megatron knew Shockwave when he was only a humble research scientist. However, due to the nature of his experiments, he was imprisoned with no chance of parole and possibly would be executed, and coincidentally he was in the same prison as Megatron after his failed revolution. They had found a lot in common with each other and Shockwave then committed himself to the Decepticon cause.

"Starscream, you will be in charge of procuring Shockwave's list of required items for the space bridge receiver." Megatron told Starscream. Starscream smiled in a nonverbal 'notice me senpai' way which made Megatron uncomfortable. Megatron knew that Starscream always tried to suck up to him and he hated it. However, given that he controlled the order of the Star Seekers and was his best flying ace, he kept him on. He also suspected that this was a cover for Starscream actually wanting to overthrow him and become leader of the Decepticons.

"I will depart at once, Lord Megatron." Starscream said as he went to gather the seekers. Soon enough, Teletraan 1 glowed to life flashing an Autobot symbol on his screen.

"Alert! Alert!" Prowl ran into the command center to receive Teletraan's report.

"Oh, scrap! We've got Decepticons on the radar!" He exclaimed. Optimus also walked in and saw the alert.

"They're attacking that jet aircraft factory. Jetfire, we'll need a ride." Optimus said. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" Optimus assembled an Autobot strike team made up of Prowl, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Hound, Skids, Inferno, Arcee, Cliffjumper, Jazz, Ratchet, Elita One, Chromia, Lancer, Airazor, and Moonracer, who quickly boarded Jetfire and he took off, gunning his engines and screaming through the sky at mach 5 to hopefully meet and engage the Decepticons before they could escape. Shockwave, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Knockout, and the Constructicons were razing the factory with the intent of stealing special metals for Shockwave to furnish special power couplings to power the space bridge receiver using the reactor from the Nemesis.

"Lookout! Autobots!" Dirge exclaimed. Shockwave turned around and saw Optimus and the Autobots roaring in to stop his plans.

"Starscream, stop them! Constructicons, continue to procure the alloys!" Astrotrain and Blitzwing said as they charged head on against the Autobots. Optimus and his strike force leaped out of Jefire as he transformed to robot mode and charged into the Decepticons.

" Autobots, attack!" Optimus called to the Autobots as they sprang into action to fight the Decepticons. However, Optimus and the Autobots stopped in their tracks when Shockwave's single, piercing yellow eye gazed upon them as though he was staring into their sparks. They were terrified at the sight of him, but it was his reputation that was even more frightening. They had heard of the terrible weapons the Decepticons had unleashed across the galaxy that had claimed many Autobot sparks and destroyed many worlds. Few Decepticons were as terrifying a sight as Shockwave.

"Optimus Prime." Shockwave said as he took his gaze off of the other Autobots and focused on Optimus. "It's a pleasure to see you again..."


	16. Final Preparations

**With Shockwave and the Constructicons at his side, Megatron is well on the way to realizing his evil goals of building a space bridge portal to Cybertron and marching a Decepticon army across to bring Earth to its knees, but Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, and the Autobots stand firmly in his way as Earth's sworn protectors. The stage is now set and the real war on Earth is about to begin...**

* * *

"Optimus Prime, it's a pleasure to finally meet you again." Shockwave said, calmly. "I feel as though it was only logical that we meet again after so long. So much has changed."

"But there is still one constant; The Autobots are winning across the galaxy and now on this planet, too." Optimus replied, cutting Shockwave's monologue short.

"It's a shame. You are a fool to believe that you are actually winning, Optimus Prime. I wasn't expecting such naivety from a Prime." Shockwave said "Do you call a full retreat in the face of a galaxy-wide counteroffensive victory? Do you call fleeing Cybertron to a backwater world with the eventual hope of regrouping for a counterattack winning?" He asked rhetorically, then he aimed his cannon hand at Optimus and fired an explosive burst of energy, but he quickly dodged it and the Autobots opened fire on Shockwave as a firefight ensued.

"Prowl, Jazz, get the humans out of here!" Optimus called as he eyed humans running for cover from the battle.

"You got it!" Jazz said as he somersaulted into the air and scooped some human workers up and carried them to safety.

"This way! We'll get you to safety!" Prowl called as he fired his rifle from behind his shield to cover the escaping factory workers. Ironhide fired his rotary cannon at Skywarp, but he opened a portal in front of himself and behind Ironhide so that he would shoot himself in the back by accident, but he was prepared for his tricks and rolled out of the way.

"Nice try, but I saw that one coming!" He said.

"You might have seen that one coming, but you weren't prepared for this!" Blitzwing said as he rumbled in and fired his tank cannon at the Autobot weapons expert.

"Speak for yourself!" Jetfire replied as he rocketed in with his jet boots and kicked Blitzwing over, who then changed to his robot mode and drew out his energon scimitar and swung at him. Jetfire expertly dodged his opponent's weapon, distracting him from Ironhide as he ran in and drop kicked the Decepticon triple changer into the ground. Jetfire helped him up and jokingly said,

"You're welcome, old timer!"

"If I had asked for your help, I would have!" Ironhide grunted. Meanwhile, Optimus and Shockwave fought in savage combat.

"Your firepower is impressive, Autobots, but it is illogical to persist in an endeavor in which you will fail!" He said as he fired a blast of energy at Hound and Smokescreen and it exploded the ground under them and threw them away. Ratchet rushed to their aid while the others fought on. Bumblebee zipped and zoomed around in his car mode, changing to robot mode and firing a barrage of sting bolts at Shockwave. The massive purple Decepticon was hardly phased by his attacks, then he turned his attention toward him and fired both his cannon hand and his shoulder mounted machine guns.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed and a blast from Shockwave's cannon was about to hit him when Optimus leaped in front of him and swung his ax to block the attack, then he charged at Shockwave to fight him in hand to hand combat. The two mighty warriors duked it out within the factory as they traded powerful blows.

"Megatron always spoke highly of your combat skills, Prime!" Shockwave said as they grappled. Optimus punched Shockwave back and fired a blast from his rifle at him, but the Decepticon scientist was too quick as he changed into his orbital cannon mode and fired a huge blast of energy at Optimus. Nearby, Scavenger, Bonecrusher, and Scrapper were breaking up incomplete jets while Mixmaster was able to isolate and distill the special rare-earth metals within them, then Hook loaded the ingots into Long Haul.

"Commander Shockwave is holding Optimus and the Autobots at bay! Let's get out of here with that metal!" Starscream told Scrapper.

"Not yet! There's one more thing we need!" Scrapper replied as he transformed from his front end loader mode. Shockwave and Optimus fought on. He swung his sword and ax at Shockwave, but even though his opponent was a scientist and engineer, he was still a deadly opponent. One poorly timed swing of his ax left Optimus vulnerable, then Shockwave fired a shot from his hand cannon straight into his stomach.

"Argh!" Optimus groaned.

"Optimus!" Elita exclaimed as she sped towards him in her armored car mode and changed to robot mode, leaping into the air and somersaulting over Shockwave before kicking him right in his eye and landed behind him, but it wasn't enough to stop him as he quickly got back up and blasted Elita with his cannon hand in the arm and slammer into the ground, pointing his hand cannon straight at her head in preparation to fire a shot at her, point blank.

"Elita!" Optimus said, trying not to lose his cool. After reuniting, Optimus and Elita had insisted their relationship remain professional, but feelings between the two still lingered on. They still looked out for one another in battle.

"If faced with your predicament, Optimus, I would choose the most logical course of action that would not involve me blowing this Autobot's head off." Shockwave said in an almost taunting inflection. Optimus saw the fear in Elita's eyes as Shockwave held her down by her neck.

"I surrender. Let her go, Shockwave!" Optimus said as he laid down his weapons.

"What?!" The other Autobots exclaimed.

"Optimus...don't do it!" Elita whimpered.

"Don't do it, Optimus! We need you!" Prowl exclaimed. As Optimus' second in command, Prowl did everything he could to watch out for his commander, but now he could do nothing. All he could do was watch as Optimus, the mightiest of all Autobots, surrendered himself before Megatron's most vile and unfeeling scientist.

"Autobots, retreat. That's an order!" Optimus said. The other Autobots couldn't believe what was going on. Scrapper and Bonecrusher transformed to robot mode and grabbed Optimus. His wounds from earlier still pained him and he could barely walk.

"Lord Megatron will be most pleased!" Shockwave said and with their new prisoner and the alloy in tow, the Decepticons withdrew and flew away to the Nemesis.

"Let's get back to the Ark." Prowl said, solemnly. No one said a word on the flight back to the Ark. Everyone was in shock of what had happened. No one expected Optimus to surrender, but now they were returning home without their leader. They arrived back at the Ark, where there John Richard, Harris, and Jessie were waiting.

"Bee, where's Optimus?" John Richard asked.

"He surrendered himself to the Decepticons to save me, and they got away with the metal from that factory for whatever it is they're planning." Elita One answered his question. The humans were just as perplexed as the Autobots at Optimus' decision. To them, Optimus Prime was larger than life, he was an unstoppable force, an immovable object, the leader of the Autobots, the sworn protectors of Earth against the evil of the Decepticons. Meanwhile, Shockwave and his contingent of Decepticons returned to the Nemesis with Optimus as their prisoner. Megatron and Soundwave came to greet them, and he was smiling from cheek to cheek at what his Special Projects Commander had brought him.

"You never disappoint, Commander Shockwave." Megatron applauded. "Optimus, how surprising for you to join us."

"You'll never win, Megatron! The Autobots know your plans and will put a stop to them!" Optimus protested, bravely. Megatron chuckled, quietly.

"I've heard that one before! Take him away." Megatron told the Contructicons. Scrapper and Bonecrusher hauled Optimus off all while Archforce watched intently, knowing that things were going to get a lot more interesting. Back on Cybertron, Straxus and Onslaught oversaw the mobilization of supplies for Decepticon army preparing to bridge over to Earth.

"Any cycle now, Lord Megatron will inform us that his space bridge receiver is operational. Our time will come and we will rid the universe of the Autobots' insidious existence!" Straxus declared. "And Commander Shockwave will make sure of it."


	17. Be Your Own Hero

**After surrendering to Shockwave in an attempt to save Elita One's life, Optimus Prime has been taken prisoner by the Decepticons. With the Autobots demoralized, Megatron prepares to move on with his plans of conquering Earth, but Ultra Magnus and his Autobots are preparing a space bridge of their own to support the shipwrecked crew of the _Ark_ on Earth in preparation for Megatron's inevitable attack...**

* * *

On Cybertron, Perceptor, Grapple, and Hoist were busily constructing their own space bridge generator using plans which Blaster had stolen from the Decepticons' intelligence network. Ultra Magnus and Kup came to see them. "How's it going?" He asked.

"We're almost done. I'd be insulting Blaster if I said that the Decepticons' intelligence network was so vulnerable." Perceptor replied.

"Nah, I'm that good a hacker." Blaster chimed in.

"I've made some modifications of my own to downsize the portal generator and to allow a portal to be sustained for longer on the other side without a receiver." Perceptor replied.

"Great." Ultra Magnus said, pleased with the team's progress, then he and Kup left Perceptor's lab and returned to the command center. It was a short enough distance to just walk from Perceptor's lab to the command center.

"What's the news from Earth?" Kup asked. Ultra Magnus looked crestfallen.

"Not good. Prowl told me that Optimus was captured by the Decepticons on a mission. Earth needs us now more than ever."

"We both know that Optimus has gone through worse. He'll be fine." Kup said, trying to comfort his commander. After Prowl sent a distress signal a few hours ago over the subspace communicator, Ultra Magnus was now in a frenzy, though he tried his best to hide it from the other Autobots. It was his duty as commander of all Autobots on Cybertron to reassure them and keep morale high. It would be harder than any battle he had ever fought to keep hope alive in the Autobots' sparks. In orbit over Earth, Optimus was kept prisoner aboard the Nemesis in Megatron's personal dungeon, where Bludgeon and Starscream were with Megatron as he interrogated his captive.

"Where is the Ark? Tell me, Optimus Prime!" Megatron roared and Bludgeon bashed him in the stomach with a club.

"I'll...never talk." Optimus groaned as he raised his head in defiance. Hours of torture had left Optimus' body broken, but his spirit intact, burning fiercely within him.

"Answer him if you value your pitiful spark!" Bludgeon growled as he hit Optimus again, and Starscream followed right after. He coughed up energon from under his mouthplate. Bludgeon was about to hit Optimus once more before Megatron stepped in to stop him.

"Stop. Perhaps we are going about this the wrong way." Megatron said, calmly. Bludgeon and Starscream were perplexed. "Release him. I would like to have a chat with my old acquaintence." Heeding their master's orders, Bludgeon and Starscream deactivated the energy binders holding Optimus up and promptly left the interrogation chamber.

"Come, Optimus. It's been a long time since we've had a good talk." Megatron said, invitingly. The two walked into another room and sat down together with an Energon cube.

"Tell me, Optimus, why do you persist in this hopeless crusade of yours?" Megatron pondered. Megatron was an expert at getting into his enemies' heads, though time and time again Optimus stood by his ideals and convictions. It was a most annoying reality for Megatron, whose charisma had swayed everyone from the downtrodden workers to the elites and intellectuals to his cause of freedom from oppression under the High Council and Zeta Prime.

"I fight you because it defines who I am." Optimus replied. "As long as I have lived, I always felt it was my duty to protect others who could not protect themselves. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Megatron, you of all Cybertronians should have realized that a long time ago. It is ironic that you, who fought to free our world of tyrants...have become one yourself." Megatron let out a laugh.

"Pretentious as always, Optimus Prime!" Optimus was silent as Megatron downed his energon cube in one swallow. "Your ideals will not save this miserable planet! Earth is mine to rule!" He chuckled. Optimus knew that the other Autobots had a plan to rescue him and stop the Decepticons. His faith in Ultra Magnus, Prowl, Elita One, and the others was not misplaced. On Earth, Prowl and the Autobots remained vigilant. They patrolled for any signs of Decepticons, even without Optimus, but morale had taken a turn for the worse. It was in the air and everyone felt it. Jazz, Hound, Smokescreen, Cliffjumper, Chromia, Moonracer, and Airazor returned from a routine patrol mission to find Bumblebee, Arcee, Skids, and their human partners entertaining themselves quietly in the command center.

"Nothing, still." Chromia reported.

"As I expected." Prowl said. He and Elita one were standing over the hologram table monitoring for signs of Decepticon activity themselves. "That space bridge is going to be operational any day now, and I'm afraid that we can't stop it in time. Ultra Magnus is making headway back home, but we can't count on him to stop them completely." He continued, looking up from the table. "If only Optimus was still here."

"If Optimus were still here, I'd be dead." Elita One said. Prowl had had enough. He pounded his fist on the table so hard it cracked and the projections flickered out.

"If you and Optimus hadn't gotten involved with one another again we wouldn't be in this mess!" Prowl snapped, furiously. "Optimus is gone, which means I'm in command until we can rescue him somehow. Shockwave used you against Optimus, don't you see?! Your relationship with him is a liability!" Everyone was taken back with Prowl's sudden outburst. They had never seen him act like this, no one had. Everyone who knows Prowl knows that he is an absolute realist, seeing the situation as it was and its consequences for his reality and for those he cared about. Seeing Optimus give himself up to save his ex-lover was heroic, but had Optimus and Elita kept their feelings about one another to themselves the situation could have turned out differently. Emotion had clouded Optimus' judgement and now the Autobots were without a leader. In many ways, Prowl respected Shockwave as an adversary for his decision making processes.

"There's no time to argue, Prowl! This is just what the Decepticons want, without Optimus they think that we're defeated! We have to fight for ourselves, and this planet! Be your own hero! It's what Optimus would want!" Elita One replied with spirit. Her reply was blunt, and an awkward silence descended over the Autobots. Prowl realized what Elita meant. The Autobots nearly worshiped Optimus Prime as their leader and friend, but in doing so much of their individual sense of identity had been eroded. Many Autobots thought of themselves not in terms of their worth to the Autobot cause, but their worth to Optimus Prime. True, Optimus would lay down his spark for any being in danger, but it was the hero worship of him that drove the Autobots to fight alongside him, all because of his title as Prime and carrier of the Matrix of Leadership.  
"You're right. Optimus would want us to carry on and fight as if he were still with us." Prowl said, gathering himself back together and calming down after his outburst.

"It's alright." Elita said, putting her hand on Prowl's shoulder. The Autobots and the humans then walked forward and placed their hands on Prowl's shoulder. Tears of lubricant dripped from Prowl's optic and he let out a soft whimper as he felt their touch. It was okay to regret. It was okay to cry. It was okay to know he had failed. The Autobots wept for their de-facto commander, too, and the burden of leadership thrust upon him.

"We're here for you." Elita One whispered.

"Thank you." Prowl said, getting up and drying the tears away. "But now we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have to save Optimus! We have to be our own heroes!"

On the Nemesis, Scrapper and the Constructicons were finished with the space bridge. It had taken Megatron and Shockwave a long time to get to this point. Now, all that was needed was to connect the power couplings from the space bridge to the Nemesis' power core. "Everything is ready. All we must do is make the connections, Lord Megatron." Scrapper said.

"Excellent, Scrapper. Make the connection." Shockwave said, pleased. Scrapper took the two conduits and connected them together, then he called to Mixmaster,

"Mixmaster, throw the switch!" Without hesitation, Mixmaster threw the switch which admitted power from the main reactor of the ship. Electricity coursed through the conduits and the ringlike structure of the space bridge receiver glowed a light teal. Swirling fingers of energy pulsated and coursed through the structure, signalling the final completion of the space bridge.

"At last! At last!" Megatron exclaimed with an evil brand of joy. "Blackout, set your course for Kansas City, Missouri, and instruct Straxus to begin bridging over the troops."

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Blackout replied. Finally, Megatron's master plan was complete. Victory was within his grasp.


	18. The Conquest Game-Part 1

**Megatron has all of the pieces in place to finally launch his devastating conquest of Earth. With Optimus Prime as his prisoner, he hopes that the capture of their leader will demoralize the Autobots and weaken their fighting spirit. However, Prowl and the rest of the crew of the Ark begins formulating a bold strategy to rescue Optimus Prime from the clutches of Megatron. Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus and the Autobots of Cybertron have a space bridge of their own and plan to bridge an Autobot army to Earth in the hope of defending it from a Decepticon invasion. As both sides make elaborate moves in preparation for the epic battle to come, Decepticon Special Projects Chief Shockwave and his ally Archforce prepare a move of their own to topple Megatron as leader of the Decepticons...**

* * *

In Kaon, Straxus and Onslaught received a transmission from Megatron. "Governor, the space bridge receiver on Earth is complete. Begin sending the first wave of troops. I also request that you send the Mayhem Attack Squad as well."

"All the preparations are complete, Lord Megatron. We will mobilize our forces immediately." Straxus replied.

"Excellent." Megatron said with an evil grin on his face.

"Onslaught, gather your Mayhem Attack Squad and accompany the first divisions over the space bridge to Earth." Straxus said.

"Yes, Lord Straxus!" Onslaught said as he quickly changed to vehicle mode and drove off to gather the Mayhem Attack Squad. Within a matter of breems, Onslaught, Brawl, Vortex, Blastoff, and Lockdown had amassed huge numbers of Decepticon troops, then the portal opened and on the other side of the portal was Earth. The Nemesis was now hovering over Kansas City, its inhabitants completely unaware of what was to come. Megatron, Starscream and the seekers, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Dreadwing, Swindle, Breakdown, Bludgeon, Blackout, Shockwave, the Constructicons, and Soundwave with his scouts were all waiting to greet the incoming Decepticon army. Onslaught and the Mayhem Attack Squad appeared through the portal first.

"Welcome to Earth, fellow Decepticons." Megatron greeted Onslaught. The commander of the Mayhem Attack Squad looked around at Earth's shimmering blue sky. Megatron was now grinning cheek to cheek as his master plan unfolded. "Transform and rise up!" he roared.

"Finally! DECEPTICONS, ATTACK!" Starscream shrieked as he and the seekers leaped into the air and changed to their jet modes while most of the rest of the troops coming over jumped off of the ship and plummeted into the city below. Vehicons landed on the ground and wildly fired their blasters, beginning the attack.

"Decepticons!" screamed a woman as panic ensued. The Decepticon army landed all across the city and began destroying everything they saw. People fled for their lives as the Decepticons smashed, strafed, blasted, and destroyed everything across their path. To Megatron, Earth was another planet ripe for conquest even with the Autobots putting up fierce resistance in the buildup to the attack.

"Hahaha! Run, humans, run! It won't save you!" Dreadwing laughed, maniacally as he strafed a city street in jet mode, then transformed to his robot mode and stomped on a container truck. The Mayhem Attack Squad was particularly enjoying themselves as they smashed and destroyed everything in their path.

"Look at 'em run!" Brawl chuckled as he rolled over a line of parked cars, then transformed to robot mode and fired his blasters.

* * *

At the farmhouse, John Richard was scrolling on his phone when he came across a news feed of the attack. The images of the devastation that the Decepticons were wreaking were terrifying, and the Autobots had to know. He ran outside and jumped onto the ranger, then peeled out of the yard to the Ark. The Autobots were already monitoring the situation.

"Guys! Guys!" He panted as he ran in and found Harris and Jessie. He looked on Teletraan 1's monitor and saw that Prowl and the Autobots were watching the news coverage of the attack on Kansas City as well and were all gathered around the quickly repaired hologram table with Ultra Magnus, Kup, Perceptor, Silverbolt, Roller, Cavalier, and Hotspot to plan their strategy. "Preliminary testing of my own copy of the space bridge is accurate and reliable. I've substituted the Decepticon-original components with tried and tested Autobot engineered ones to ensure a more user friendly experience." Perceptor stated verbosely.

"What he said. If our calculations are correct, we'll be able to power up the space bridge and have a task group over there on Earth as quick as we can. But," Ultra Magnus added. "Perceptor was right in that our copy of the space bridge is more user friendly in that it's easier to operate and maintain, the bad thing is that for opening a portal this far away from Cybertron is going to take a lot of time for it to power up, and even then we can only sustain it for about two hours after that."

"Exactly why I've built these." Perceptor said, then an image of a device which resembled a safety pin appeared. "I call them portal-spikes. They're miniature versions of a full-sized space bridge receiver. They can stabilize the vortex for additional time and have subspace tachyon transmitters to send me their coordinates should the portal collapse." Perceptor chimed in, showing the obvious pride in his creation.

"Anyway, on to our strategy. Perceptor, once you can get the space bridge fired up, send a team over with some of those portal spikes, then Ultra Magnus, you'll bring your troops over. In the meantime, we'll be slowing them down and softening them up. Until then, Autobots, let's roll!"

"Let us help!" John Richard, Harris, and Jessie said. Prowl looked at them and with a crestfallen expression he said,

"I'm sorry, it's too dangerous. We need you to stay here and look after the Ark." The humans were upset that they couldn't help Prowl and the others. "Elita, power up your ship! We'll need everyone for this!"

"Got it!" Elita One said. "Nautica, get the ship ready for takeoff!"

"I'm on it!" Nautica said as she rushed outside to carry out the task. Within a matter of minutes, the Autobots had gathered their weapons and were loading up on the _Novastar._ Before they left, Bumblebee, Skids, and Arcee spoke with their partners before the end of the battle.

"Be safe." John Richard said to Bumblebee.

"Don't worry about us. This is our job." Bumblebee said as he then climbed aboard the ship. With everyone aboard, the ship took off, kicking up enormous clouds of dust, then the engines flared the ship blasted away, whisking the Autobots into the fight. Back in Kansas City, the space bridge was still disgorging thousands of Decepticon troops who then set out to attack the city. The _Nemesis_ hovered over the city, casting its dark shadow upon it. Starscream and the seekers were making pass after pass with their machine guns and missiles on the city when Thrust spotted something in distance. His scanners recognized it as an Autobot ship with accompanying energy signatures.

"Commander, Autobots are inbound!" He reported. Starscream scowled,

"Autobots! Lord Megatron, the Autobots have arrived!" He radioed Megatron.

"Then destroy them!" Megatron replied, angrily. Despite the fact that the Autobots had come, he was more than certain that they would fail in their mission to protect the city, then humanity would lose hope in them and submit to him, or at least that was how he hoped everything would turn out. Aboard the _Novastar,_ Prowl and the Autobots were waiting with their weapons ready to jump into the below. A green light flashed and the rear access ramp opened. The Autobots got up, activated their null field generators, and prepared to jump.

"Alright boys, let's show these 'cons how we roll! GO FOR IT!" Prowl grinned, confidently. Ironhide was the first to jump from the ship, then Jazz, Wheeljack, Hound, Inferno, Arcee, Jetfire, Chromia, Lancer, Firestar, Moonracer, Velocity, Airrazor followed behind. Huffer was about to jump, but was hesitant.

"Go on!" Cluffjumper said as he shoved him out of the ship.

"We're all gonna die!" Huffer wailed as he fell out of the ship, then Cliffjumper followed shortly afterward. Once all of the others were out, Prowl and Elita were the only ones left.

"Come on, Elita." Prowl said. Elita One lowered her head, crestfallen.

"I can't. There's got to be some kind of way I can save Optimus. He's aboard Megatron's ship and I have to save him!" She answered. Prowl looked at his hands and clenched them.

"Do it. For all of us." Prowl said. He walked up to Elita One and held her hand tightly. They looked each other in the eyes for brief moment, then Prowl turned around and leaped from the ship and into the raging battle below. On the ground, city police, sheriff's deputies, and National Guardsmen fired at the Decepticon attackers with all the weapons they could muster, but to no avail. Some Vehicons had several policemen cornered until Airazor screamed in and with a burst of cannon fire the Vehicons' heads exploded and their bodies crumpled to the ground.

"It's the Autobots, we're saved!" A man said. Ironhide, Cliffjumper, and Hound ran onto the scene to tackle more incoming Decepticons.

"It's not safe here, human! Get yourself and as many people out of here as you can!" Ironhide shouted over the roar of his machine guns blazing away. The policeman nodded in agreement and waved to his men to get to work with the evacuation while the Autobots laid down suppressing fire.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nautica was able to slip in without detection aboard the Nemesis, magnetizing the _Novastar_ to the side of the ship. With most of the crew down on the ground, the ship was running on a skeleton crew, and much of the ship's power was diverted towards running the space bridge. Because of this, the rear and side scanners and shields were down, giving Elita the perfect opening to get in.

"Nautica, stay here and power down the ship. I'll find Optimus and send you a signal once I've got him." Elita told her pilot.

"Yes ma'am!" Nautica replied, obediently. Elita stepped out of the rear hatch and cut her way into the ship. She landed a corridor with two Vehicons in front of her and quickly slashed their heads off with her swords, then she ran down the corridor towards the bridge. Back on the ground, the Autobots had split up into smaller groups to more effectively fight the Decepticons across the city, while Jetfire and Airrazor provided air cover.

Elsewhere, Prowl was on his own, trying to regroup with someone, slogging his way through the Decepticons. He smashed through a Vehicon with his shield, then beat another's head in with his club and took down two more with a burst from his shoulder cannons. A grenade tumbled out of nowhere and Prowl ducked behind a building to shield himself from the explosion, but rather than a hail of shrapnel exploding out from it, smoke poured from the grenade instead, meaning only one thing. Smokescreen, Inferno, and Moonracer had outflanked the squad of Vehicons.

"We're outflanked-AAAAAHHH!" One exclaimed as a blast of flames from Inferno's torch cannon melted him into a puddle of slag and Moonracer quickly dispatched another with a blast from her pistols. The smoke cleared and Prowl emerged from his cover to find the three Autobots.

"There you are, Prowl! For a minute you had us worried!" Smokescreen said, thankfully.

"I'm all here." Prowl replied. "Come on, we need to keep going! Let's roll out!" Prowl said, and the four Autobots quickly changed to vehicle mode and sped off.

* * *

Back aboard the Nemesis, Elita One was still sneaking her way around in the hope that she would find Optimus. It was imperative that she stayed out of sight, or the whole ship would be after her. Nautica landed at the midships, and the quarters were located at the bow. After several more minutes of sneaking, Elita found an access terminal which she hacked into and found where Optimus was being held. "There! Don't worry Optimus, I'm coming!" She whispered to herself. Using the map, she plotted out her route to Megatron's dungeon, where Optimus was held. Thankfully, Megatron was at the bridge watching the battle in the city below. Now was the perfect time to save Optimus. Optimus was left by Megatron after their talk to languish in the dungeon as the Decepticons destroyed the city below. He now regretted his decision to surrender and save Elita. With his leadership, the Autobots would have prevented this from ever happening.

"Optimus!" Elita cried. Optimus' eyes widened as he saw Elita One running towards him and freeing him.

"Thank you, Elita." Optimus said. "There is something I must tell you, and now is the time I have decided best" Elita paused for a moment. She knew what Optimus was about to say before he said it, but was anxious anyway. Optimus retracted his mouthplate and looked into her eyes. "I love you." Those three words made Elita One's eyes twinkle with tears as she leaned in closer and the two shared a kiss. For one moment, nothing mattered to either Autobot. The war, Earth, the Autobots, Cybertron-none of it mattered for that tiny fraction of a second, but there were still challenges to overcome. Elita supported Optimus, still spry from his wounds in battle and captivity, on her shoulder, then footsteps could be heard. Megatron rounded the corner and an evil smile crossed his face.

"Optimus Prime, Elita One...it's a pleasure to see you two."

"Stay back Elita!" Optimus said as he raised his fists and prepared to fight Megatron...

 **To Be Continued...**


	19. The Conquest Game-Part 2

**Previously on Tales of the Transformers-**  
 **The Decepticons have launched a massive attack on Kansas City, Missouri. Outnumbered and outgunned, Prowl and the Autobots fight on to stem the tide of the attack. Meanwhile on Cybertron, Ultra Magnus and Perceptor work to bring online their own space bridge portal and bridge across an Autobot army to aid their beleaguered comrades, and aboard the Nemesis, Elita One rescues Optimus Prime from the clutches of Megatron and prepares to escape to the battle below...**

* * *

Optimus and Megatron stared each other down from opposite ends of the corridor after Elita had rescued him from Megatron's dungeon. "Stay back, Elita!" Optimus told her. Both combatant seemed to be in sync with one another, waiting for each to make the first move and counter, but the anticipation had drove them both to simply charge headlong at one another. Optimus was the first to swing, clocking Megatron square in the jaw with an uppercut. Megatron staggered back, impressed by the power of Optimus' blow.

"Heh. Not bad, Optimus, but the torture you suffered at my hands will be nothing in comparison to this!" Megatron chuckled as he wiped energon off his lip and charged his fusion cannon for a full power shot.

"Optimus!" Elita exclaimed as she ran forward and tackled Optimus out of the way just as Megatron fired his fusion cannon. The blast missed both of them but a massive hole was blown open in the ship's hull and the rapid depressurization sucked them out of it. He turned solemnly and used his subspace comlink to send a transmission to Straxus.

"Straxus, there is a slight change of plans. Optimus Prime has escaped my captivity. Knowing Optimus, he will more than surely call Ultra Magnus for reinforcements. Send a division to cut off the Autobots' reinforcements." He told Straxus.

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Straxus replied. Like that, Optimus Prime had slipped through Megatron's grasp. Nautica noticed Optimus and Elita flailing through the air and started the ship. She gunned the engines to catch the two falling through the sky, opening the front hatch and expertly catching them. Optimus and Elita had shut their eyes as they were caught by the ship and ended up lying together, holding hands. Nautica put the ship on autopilot and went to check on them.

"Optimus, are you alright?" Nautica asked. Optimus came to and saw he and Elita holding each other's hand.

"I'm fine, Nautica." Optimus said. "Send a distress call to Ultra Magnus. Tell him to meet us at the Ark."

"Yes sir!" Nautica replied.

* * *

On Cybertron Perceptor, Hoist, Grapple, Crumble, Takedown, Neutro, and Groundpounder were working frantically on a final systems check of the space bridge before activation. "It's imperative that all systems are operational before we activate the ground bridge!" Perceptor told his team. Ultra Magnus walked in to check up on them. "We're working as quickly as we can, Ultra Magnus! The process will simply take time!" He told him.

"Well, Perceptor, we're running out of time!" Ultra Magnus replied. His comlink flashed, indicating a transmission coming through. "Magnus here. What's going on?"

"Magnus, we need you!" Kup shouted over the comlink. A battle was roaring around him. Several battalion-sized elements of Decepticon infantry had been dropped in by troop carriers on the outskirts of Iacon and Kup was fighting with his team of Autobots to drive them back. "There's a Decepticon battle group on our doorstep and we need reinforcements!" An Autobot soldier was shot in the head right next to Kup as he ducked.

"I'll be right there. Perceptor, stay here and keep working on that space bridge!" Ultra Magnus said, urgently as he changed to his truck mode and roared away to gather reinforcements and help Kup repel the attack on the outskirts of the city.

* * *

On Earth, Megatron returned to the bridge after his encounter with Optimus and Elita to join Shockwave, Archforce, and Soundwave and watch the battle from the bridge of the Nemesis while they communicated with Straxus on Cybertron. "I have done as you asked, Lord Megatron. A strike force has been inserted into Iacon to distract Ultra Magnus and cut off the Autobots' reinforcements."

"Excellent work, Governor." Megatron replied. Shockwave had told Straxus that a special hand signal would be shown to activate the Change of Command protocol within Archforce's programming, and with Megatron occupied, now was the time to activate the protocol. Straxus discreetly extended his right pointer finger and thumb in the shape of an L. Archforce's receptors suddenly flickered off and on, then they changed from piercing red to the same bright yellow as Shockwave's eye.

"Archforce, what's happening to you?" Megatron said, perplexed.

"The situation is simple, Lord Megatron. I am taking my place as the logical commander of all Decepticons. Archforce, destroy Megatron!" Shockwave commanded. Archforce, without hesitation, lunged at Megatron and tackled him to the floor, while Soundwave was unsure of what to do and Shockwave made his escape, transforming to his satellite cannon mode and blasting a hole in the view-ports of the bridge, shattering the glass and he rocketed away.

"I've been looking forward to this, my liege!" Archforce growled as he pinned Megatron down on the floor and punched him across the face. Megatron kicked his attacker off and got back up.

"Then I'm going to take great pleasure in disappointing you!" he replied, then he drew out his sword and mace. Archforce did the same and they clashed against one another. It was an even match, both fighters were equally skilled. There was a cacophony as the clanging and crashing of blades filled the bridge. Soundwave got up and and saw as Megatron battled Archforce to a draw.

"Rumble, Frenzy Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ravage, Ratbat, deploy. Operation: Restoration!" He commanded, and he launched his scouts off of his wings to fight Archforce and help Megatron. Rumble and Frenzy activated their pile drivers to shake the the floor and tip Archforce off balance, while Laserbeak swooped in and fired his eye beams. Archforce, however, was unphased as he turned around and punted Rumble across the bridge, then grabbed Frenzy and sent him flying into Laserbeak. With Archforce distracted, Megatron had found the opening he was looking for to strike him down. From nowhere, Archforce finally wrestled off Soundwave's minions and turned around and Megatron fired a full-power blast through his chest at point blank range. The blast was strong enough to vaporize Archforce's nyonium armor, and his spark was snuffed out in an instant. Soundwave had ducked as the blast from the fusion cannon went through Archforce and several walls.

"Well done, Soundwave." Megatron congratulated his communications officer.

"Thank you, Lord Megatron." Soundwave replied, humbly.

* * *

Back on Cybertron, Ultra Magnus, arrived with Nightbeat, Hosehead, Siren, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Mirage, Red Alert, Bluestreak, Sizzle, Guzzle, Fizzle, Dogfight, Backstreet, Override, Hotspot, Blades, Firstaid, Streetwise, and Groove to reinforce Kup in the defense of the outskirts of the city. Powerglide flew in with his dropship and airdropped Ultra Magnus and his company into the battle. With their null field generators, they landed and Ultra Magnus rallied his troops to battle. "Come on, men! Our reinforcements have arrived!" Kup shouted over the roar of battle. Ultra Magnus joined up with Kup as they lead their Autobots into the chaos. Silverbolt and his fliers swooped in from above to provide air cover while Big Shot, Flak, Sidetrack, and Dogfight laid down covering fire all while Trailbreaker projected a shield to block oncoming fire. Blaster's data that he had gathered while he was still a rogue made up all of what the Autobots had currently known about Megatron and Shockwave's plans, but the diversionary attack was a heat of the moment decision on Megatron's part to save face and cut off Optimus' reinforcements. This was entirely unexpected by Ultra Magnus. "Something's not right about this, Magnus!" Kup said as they fought, back to back, blazing away with their rifles.

"How so?" Ultra Magnus asked as he grabbed a Vehicon by his face, bodyslammed him into the ground and shot him in the back of the head, pointblank.

"The Decepticons don't seem to have any clear objective! They're just attacking the outskirts of the city!" Kup replied, observantly as he turned around and blasted another Vehicon through the chest with his shotgun. Ultra Magnus looked around and saw that the Decepticons' phalanx was staggered, slowly crawling forward. If there were any actual objective they were trying to accomplish they would be advancing much faster and fighting much harder. Ultra Magnus realized what Straxus was getting at. It was a diversion to draw him and his Autobots away and prevent Ultra Magnus from being able to bridge across to Earth.

"Autobots, CHARGE!" Ultra Magnus roared as he raised his hammer. The Autobots saw this and were emboldened, charging behind their leader and smashing through the Decepticon advance. Ultra Magnus' only feasible option was a full frontal assault to overpower the Decepticons and rout them from the city long enough to allow Perceptor to get the space bridge fully operational. Swing after powerful swing of Ultra Magnus' hammer knocked apart Vehicons, while Kup blasted them apart with his shotgun, Flak blew them apart with a barrage of unguided rockets, and Sideswipe slashed through them with swords. Given that the operation was working as planned, Skyquake, assigned by Straxus for the mission called to the Decepticons.

"Decepticons, our mission is accomplished! Retreat!" As he leaped into the air and changed to jet mode. The Decepticons quickly changed to vehicle mode and hastily fell back. As the dust settled, Ultra Magnus received a transmission from Perceptor.

"Perceptor, what's the status of the space bridge?" He asked the scientist.

"The space bridge is fully operational, but that's not why I'm calling. I have a transmission coming through from Earth, from Optimus Prime!" Perceptor announced.

"Put him through, immediately!" Ultra Magnus replied, urgently. Ultra Magnus' hologram projector switched from an image of Perceptor to Optimus. "Thank the AllSpark, Optimus! You're okay!" Ultra Magnus sighed with relief. An explosion of jubilant cheering came from the crowd of Autobots.

"It's good to see you as well, old friend." Optimus replied. He and Elita One were on their way to the Ark. "I have escaped captivity at the hands of the Decepticons. The Earth city of Kansas City is under attack by Megatron and the Decepticons and my Autobot crew is outnumbered. We require reinforcements if we are to prevent any further destruction and loss of human life at the Decepticons' hands."

"Affirmative, our space bridge is operational and we'll be there in a few nanocycles." Ultra Magnus said. "Good luck." Optimus signed off of the transmission and Ultra Magnus turned to his Autobots. "You heard him! ROLL OUT!" He called, and the Autobots all quickly transformed to their vehicle modes and drove off back to Autobase at top speed to meet up with Perceptor with the space bridge ready to go.

* * *

Back on Earth, Prowl and the Autobots fought on bravely to defend Kansas City. Prowl and all of the Autobots save their air support were fighting on the ground and had dug in using destroyed buildings for cover. Hound's leg had been hit by a blast from Starscream and Ratchet was working his hardest to keep him alive. "Tell me I'm gonna live, doc!" Hound groaned from the pain.

"You'll be fine, I promise!" Ratchet replied, stoically as the battle raged on around him while he worked to repair his injured comrade. Nearby, Ironhide was still firing on all cylinders, guns blazing away.

" **Get some, 'cons!** " He screamed as he fired his rotary cannons, shoulder cannons, rocket pods, and shotguns all at the same time. He knocked jet vehicons out of the air one after the next and mowed down the ones on the ground. He had lost count of his kills for the day, but it was probably at least an entire brigade's worth of Decepticons. However, his ammo was running out and Starscream noticed this as he and the seekers, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Bludgeon, Blackout, Breakdown, Dreadwing, and the Mayhem Attack Squad with hundreds more Vehicons behind them and thousands more still pouring from the space bridge on the Nemesis directly above encroached upon Prowl and the Autobots, but still they fought on."Never give up! Never surrender!" Prowl shouted to his troops. The Autobots were just as determined to fight to the death in defense of Earth, just as Optimus Prime swore they would. Even without him they were bound by his words to deliver on his promise. Starscream saw something overhead and smiled. Megatron flew in with his jet boots and Soundwave flying in his jet mode next to him. Strung on his back was the decaptiated head of Archforce, still frozen in shock after Megatron had killed him. Soundwave changed to robot mode and Megatron landed in front of all of the Decepticons. He raised his fist and the Decepticons ceased fire all of a sudden.

"What's going on?" Prowl wondered, and he signaled the Autobots to stop firing as well. Everything was quiet. "What are you playing at, Megatron?" Prowl demanded. Megatron spoke up.

"Autobots, you have fought bravely and have my respect. But," Megatron continued, "Without Optimus Prime you are lost. If you surrender your lives may be spared."

"You think we're going to make deals with you!? Jetfire, Airrazor, attack!" Prowl said. However, the two Autobot fliers could be seen gliding down in jet mode, heavily damaged. They changed to jet mode and slammed into the ground next to the Autobots. They were barely clinging to life and Ratchet rushed to aid them.

"You see, Prowl, I hold the cards. Surrender or die." Megatron told Prowl his ultimatum. Faced with certain death, Prowl had no other option but to surrender to Megatron, but Optimus' promise to humanity still stood. His words echoed in Prowl's mind.

"I, Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, will not allow harm to come to Earth or its life. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, and we will protect Earth from the menace of the Decepticons, this I swear on the Primes who preceded me." These two sentences had made the Autobots' objective on Earth crystal clear. Their first, their only purpose on Earth was to protect the planet and all life on it, even if it cost them their lives. Megatron took Prowl's lack of response as one that he would keep on fighting, and he raised his fusion cannon in preparation to destroy Prowl. The Autobot lieutenant shut his eyes as a bright purple light gathered in the barrel of Megatron's fusion cannon.

"Say goodbye, Autobot!" Megatron growled as his fusion cannon was at 100 percent, ready to fire, when all of a sudden a massive explosion rocked the Nemesis in the sky above and the _Novastar_ could be seen pulling away after firing a massive burst of its turbo cannons. Optimus Prime and Elita One had arrived with Ultra Magnus and an Autobot strike force with air support from Silverbolt and an Autobot Air Force Squadron.

"BOOM! That's how we do it!" John Richard shouted. The Autobots' human allies had joined them on the mission as well. The Autobots looked up into the air to see the _Novastar_ haul back around and release Optimus and the Autobots within, all holding portal spikes.

"Optimus!" Prowl exclaimed. The Autobots were overjoyed to see their leader back in fighting shape. Optimus turned to the Autobots, and with a newfound spark of vigor and courage, he called to his men,

"Autobots, ROLL OUT!"

" _ **DECEPTICONS, ATTACK!**_ " Megatron roared, and the two armies clashed in the biggest battle Earth had ever seen...

 **To Be Concluded...**


	20. The Conquest Game-Part 3

**Previously on Tales of the Transformers-**

 **Elita One has rescued Optimus Prime from the Nemesis, while Prowl and the rest of the Autobots continue to valiantly defend Kansas City, Missouri from the Decepticons' merciless attack, all while Shockwave initiates his coup to install himself as leader of the Decepticons. Outnumbered, outgunned, and outflanked by their enemies, Prowl and the Autobots are forced to the brink surrender until Optimus Prime and Elita One return with Ultra Magnus and an Autobot strike team to plant portal spikes to bridge across an Autobot army to even the odds against the Decepticons, but the Constructicons have a secret weapon to keep the balance of power firmly in their hands as the Transformers' largest battle yet on Earth reaches a tipping point...**

* * *

Cybertron was in turmoil as the revolutionary intellectual Megatron and his Decepticon followers were stirring up the masses after the High Council, the oligarchic ruling body of the planet and all its colonies across space, was removed from power and Zeta Prime killed at Megatron's hands. However, seeing the path that the Decepticons had taken would lead Cybertron not to salvation, but instead ruination, a group broke off into a splinter faction friendly to the Elite Guard, the military arm of the High Council. Optimus Prime had been chosen as the heir to the Matrix of Leadership, and as such was recognized as the new leader of the newly amalgamated elite guard and the moderate Decepticon splinter group, now collectively referring to themselves as the Autobots. The first battle between Megatron and the new Prime was at the battle of Tyger Pax in the southeastern region of the planet. "Autobots, press your attack!" Optimus boomed to his troops. Ultra Magnus, his ever faithful lieutenant, stood by his side as they lead their troops into battle. Behind them, Prowl, Jazz Kup, Ironhide, Mirage, Hound, Bluestreak, Smokescreen, Cliffjumper, Jetfire, Ratchet, Brawn, Windcharger, Longarm, Hubcap, Pipes, and hundreds more Autobots charged headlong into the battle, Megatron was in direct command of the campaign to conquer the city. "Lord Megatron, the Autobots are advancing!" Soundwave reported. Megatron saw Optimus leading the Autobot attack towards the city through his binoculars.

"Order a full frontal assault! DECEPTICONS, ATTACK!" Megatron shouted as he too lead the Decepticons over the top to counter attack.

* * *

Flash forward four million years and a lot had changed, but a lot had stayed the same. Now the latest engagement between Optimus and Megatron was on the planet Earth as he and his Autobot crew, now with the help of reinforcements from Cybertron were fighting to halt the Decepticons' conquest of Earth and to protect its inhabitants, but now the stakes were higher. Optimus had covenanted to humanity that he and the Autobots would fight for Earth and its life if it cost them their sparks. Megatron was determined to show Earth that Optimus could not keep his promise. The battle of Kansas City would ultimately decide which leader would prevail. "I'll destroy you, Optimus Prime! This world shall fall to my hand yet!" Megatron shouted.

"Don't be so sure of yourself Megatron!" Optimus replied as they clashed with their swords. Their blades clashed and clanged together, each fighter swinging and slashing at one another with all the strength they could muster. Megatron fired a volley of low-power blasts from his fusion cannon, but Optimus deflected the shots with his sword and changed to his truck mode, swerving around more blasts and changing back to robot mode and hitting Megatron in the chest with a flying kick. Megatron slid back on the cracked pavement and slammed into a building. Optimus then came flying in with his sword drawn and preparing to strike Megatron down, but he recovered quick enough to dodge the attack. Nearby, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Brawn, Tracks, and Trailbreaker had set up a perimeter to allow Blaster to set up portal spikes around the perimeter and bring across Autobot reinforcements.

"Alright Perceptor, the portal spikes are in place. Send 'em over!" Blaster raidoed Cybertron.

"Affirmative." Perceptor said, and with the push of a button the Autobots' space bridge sparked to life and Autobot soldiers came marching across.

"Welcome to Earth, boys!" Blaster said, and the Autobot reinforcements bolstered their defense of the city. The reinforcements came pouring across from Cybertron and were pushing back the Decepticons all across the city. From the _Novastar_ John-Richard, Harris, and Jessie watched the battle below on a hologram projector.

"That's it!" Harris cheered. "Go Skids!" Although he couldn't pick out his Autobot partner.

"Come on! Come on!" John-Richard said, urgently hoping that Bumblebee would be okay. Meanwhile, Optimus and Megatron fought on against one another, trading powerful blows.

"You can end this Megatron! Call off your army and leave this planet!" Optimus demanded as he landed an impressive series of punches against Megatron.

"We both know that's not going to happen, Prime! This world is mine to rule!" Megatron replied as he swung his fist which Optimus caught.

"Then I have done all I can to negotiate with you." Optimus replied, solemnly. Optimus was of the mind that every sentient being, no matter how evil, was capable of changing for the better. Before he was a warlord, Megatron was a hero to the masses, fighting to free his fellow Cybertronians from tyranny, but his lust for power consumed him and he became the very thing his goal was to overthrow. Surely if such an upstanding intellectual as Megatron was once a force for good, he could be swayed back from evil. "Peace can be dissolved with words, but they can also be used to restore it!" Optimus said with spirit.

"Then have at you, Prime! Prove to me that words alone will be enough to stop me from reducing this world you have sworn to defend to ash and blood!" Megatron taunted. With all his power and might, Optimus Prime deployed his sword and ax, then picked up speed, running towards Megatron, who he two drew his melee weapons and they clashed once more.

* * *

Back at the site of the main battle, the fighting had reached a stalemate. The Autobots and Decepticons' line had not shifted, each dividing the city squarely in half. As a result, casualties on both sides were mounting. "Keep going! Don't hold back!" Ultra Magnus yelled to his men. He smashed and bashed Vehicons to pieces with his hammer and fired missiles from his shoulder pods. Ironhide was still firing all of his weapons wildly after finally reloading his ammo stores, while Jazz flipped and twirled through the air flinging throwing stars through enemies.

"We meet again, Jazz!" Bludgeon said as he came into view.

"And you're still just as ugly!" Jazz replied as he drew out his swords and dueled with the Decepticon Metallikato master.

"Then I've done something right!" Bludgeon retorted while they locked up their blades. While he was distracted, Bumblebee zoomed in, changed from his car mode and unleashed a torrent of sting bolts which pummeled him in the back, giving Jazz enough time to throw Bludgeon off and slash him across his face.  
"Grargh!" He howled in pain and fell over. Bumblebee gave Jazz a comical smirk.

"Why is it that you always need me to save you, Jazz?" He asked, rhetorically.

"I don't, I could have beaten him all by myself!" Jazz replied, defensively. Bumblebee gave his comrade a disbelieving look until they transformed and rolled out to fight on.

* * *

Above, Jetfire, Airrazor, Silverbolt, Fireflight, Skydive, Air Raid, Slingshot, Sunrunner, Blades, and Dogfight were making an attack run on the Nemesis in an attempt to destroy the space bridge with Nautica in the _Novastar_. "Argh! There's too much flak!" Nautica exclaimed the ship's anti aircraft batteries opened up with a blistering barrage of fire.

"We'll draw the ship's fire, Nautica, you hit the space bridge with everything you've got!" Jetfire radioed. The air attack would be crucial if the Autobots were to break the stalemate and finally end the battle. Jetfire and the others broke off and regrouped.

"Everyone, we have to clear a path for Nautica! Take out the Nemesis' triple A emplacements!" He told his wingmen.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Air Raid said, enthusiastically. The Autobot fliers screamed in abreast of one another with their machine guns and cannons roaring and missiles firing. The impact from the explosions violently rocked the ship, tearing pieces off of its structure. With much of the anti aircraft emplacements scattered across the ship destroyed, the way was clear for Nautica to make her attack run on the space bridge. She told the humans.

"You three, divert all power to the thrusters and charge turbo beams! We've only got one shot at this!" She stretched out her hand and placed the three in the co-pilot's chair, where they frantically tried to find the button which would do as Nautica requested.

"Here it is!" Jessie said as she pressed a big orange button.

"Wish me luck, kids!" Nautica said. Within a matter of seconds, the indicator on Nautica's steering yoke told her that the turbo beam cannons were at 100% and ready to fire. She squeezed the trigger and from the wingtip pods two beams of scarlet energy exploded forth and slammed into the space bridge's superstructure. The receiver exploded in a brilliant burst of flames and smoke which illuminated the dreary, grey sky overhead, then the vortex it was stabilizing collapsed in a swirling, crackling torrent of energy. The Decepticons reinforcements were cut off. Everyone watched as the Nemesis staggered from the force of the explosion and nosed down. Optimus and Megatron paused their battle to look up at the marvelous sight above.

"Scrapper. Initiate the Devastation Protocol." Megatron said into his comlink. Aboard the sinking Nemesis, Scrapper and the rest of the Constructicons were waiting for his order.

"At once, Lord Megatron! Constructicons, away!" Scrapper said, and they leaped from the ship and plummeted to the city below, landing with a deafening thud. "CONSTRUCTICONS, INITIATE DEVASTATION PROTOCOL, MAXIMUM SCRAMBLE! _**TRAAANSFOOORRRRM!**_ " Scrapper bellowed. The six Constructicons transformed into their vehicle modes in complete synchronization.

"What are they doing?!" Wondered Kup. Scrapper and Mixmaster then transformed into two leg modules, Long Haul and Hook formed a torso, and Scavenger and Bonecrusher became arms. A massive head then emerged, his piercing red visor glowing to life and energy coursing through his form.

"I... _AM_... _ **DEVASTATOOORRRRRRRR!**_ " The giant screamed, his voice so loud it shattered windows.

"They're defenses are broken, let the slaughter begin!" Megatron shouted.

"Everyone, open fire on that...that...thing!" Ultra Magnus ordered. The Autobots spewed a maelstrom of fire onto Devastator with every gun at their disposal, but the Decepticon juggernaut's armor was impenetrable.

"HAHAHAHAH, YOU THINK THAT'S GOING TO STOP ME!? I'LL SHOW YOU AUTOBOTS WHAT _**REAL**_ POWER IS!" Devastator announced. He cupped his fists and and slammed the ground with such colossal force an earthquake shook the entire city. Luckily by this point the Missouri National Guard and the emergency services had evacuated everyone from the immediate vicinity of the fighting, but regardless the damage was severe. The earthquake shook the Autobots off their feet and scattered them about, making it easier when Megatron then shouted,

"DECEPTICONS, ATTACK!" d in the battle. Nevertheless, Ultra Magnus fought on against the Decepticons' renewed onslaught.

"Autobots, hold your ground!" Optimus shouted to reassure his troops. The Autobots held firm against the Decepticon counterattack charging toward them by charging back at them. The battle had raged for over three hours by now and both sides' dead numbered in the thousands and now the slaughter would continue. The combat was savage as the Autobots and Decepticons battled in fierce hand to hand combat, but the struggle ground on. Suddenly, there was another explosion of light as a figure landed in the midst of the battle and a single yellow eye flashed. Shockwave had returned.

"Megatron, you survived." Shockwave purred. Megatron raised his fist to signal the Decepticons to stop their advance.

"That I did. Unfortunately your friend, Archforce did not fair as well." Megatron replied, and he dropped Archforce's decaptitated head at Shockwave's feet, who stared at it for a second.

"Unfortunate indeed, Lord Megatron. That means now I must destroy you myself!" Shockwave declared.

"Decepticons, Shockwave is a traitor! If you value your sparks, you will destroy him!" Megatron commanded to the Decepticons. Without hesitation, the Decepticons took aim at their new target and opened fire on him. Shockwave replied with high energy blasts from his hand cannon. Starscream and the seekers swooped in and strafed Shockwave while Devastator tried to stomp and smash him, but he was too powerful. The Autobots were confused at first, but Optimus saw an opportunity to finally break the stalemate and end the battle for good.

"Autobots, the Decepticons are distracted, full advance!" Optimus boomed. The Autobots mustered all their numbers for one final charge at the Decepticons, and like a tidal wave the Autobots smashed through the Decepticons. Megatron had made a grave error in diverting his focus toward Shockwave rather than Optimus and it gave his Autobot enemy the opening he needed to launch a final counterattack. Seeing that the battle was lost, Megatron called to the Decepticons,

"Decepticons, retreat! Get to the ship!" The Decepticons fled the city with all haste and flew aboard the Nemesis as the Autobots ceaselessly poured fire on them. Shockwave was nowhere to be found in the city as the Decepticons retreated. The dust finally settled and the Autobots were victorious. The _Novastar_ landed and Nautica and the humans ran out to greet Optimus and the rest of the jubilant Autobots. Bumblebee, Skids, and Arcee were overjoyed as well to see their partners as well.

"We did it! We did it!" Optimus saw Elita One running towards him, who he then embraced and tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

"Optimus!" She sighed.

"Elita."Optimus said, calmly. He retracted his mask and the two kissed, even in the midst of the rest of the Autobots. Ultra Magnus, the stone cold lieutenant of the Autobots who had disapproved of Optimus and Elita's relationship in the past, shed a single tear for them.

"Uh...Magnus, are you crying?" Kup asked.

"Don't be absurd, my optics were just...running a little hot." Ultra Magnus snapped, defensively. Optimus Prime, with his hand around Elita One's waist, then spoke up.

"Autobots, I stand before you today, triumphant not only by my own merit, but also with your undying loyalty and capacity for courage. Thanks to your dedication and sacrifice, we have fulfilled a promise to the denizens of this planet that we will protect Earth and its life from the Decepticons. Now as we stand the victors in this struggle to uphold our covenant to humanity, we must look to the future. We must help humanity heal its wounds and move forward in peace and prosperity. I, Optimus Prime, hereby renew my promise that Earth will remain safe from the threat of the Decepticons, so help me Primus and the Primes who preceded me! Till all are one!" Optimus said.

"Till all are one." Echoed the Autobots gathered around him. The raw emotions after the end of the battle still hung heavy in the air, but there was still plenty of rejoicing across the world for the victory of the Autobots. Elita One and her crew had accomplished their mission to find Optimus Prime. She pulled him away to speak in private.

"Optimus, I'm sorry." She apologized. "I can't stay here. I love you, you're my life, but my mission to find you is complete. I wish I could, I really do." She continued as she began to weep.

"It is unfortunate that you must leave. I too have rekindled my fondness for you. I have learned during my time here on Earth that something is not beautiful because it lasts, but know this, Elita. My love will live on, even in your absence." Optimus replied, and they kissed one another one last time before Elita left the next day. Over the next few weeks, the media hailed the Autobots as heroes once more, touting endlessly how Optimus' vow to protect Earth was upheld. Demonstrations in solidarity with the Autobots were held all across America, in Kansas City, especially, and the Autobots helped with the clean up and rescue operations in the city. John-Richard, Jessie, and Harris had told their friends at school not to talk about the Autobots very much, as nearly everyone knew about their connection after the fight between John-Richard and Joey Slick and were considerate in doing so. The Decepticons were nowhere to be found. Optimus and the Autobots had fulfilled their promise to humanity, but the war for Earth was only just beginning...

* * *

In Marie Byrd Land, the largest unclaimed landmass on Earth, the Nemesis had crash landed after somehow managing to fly over 8,000 miles after sustaining grievous battle damage at the hands of the Autobots. Megatron, Soundwave, and Scrapper plodded through the swirling snowstorm."Are you sure it's here, Lord Megatron? This storm is interfering with my readings." Soundwave asked Megatron as he scanned the landscape.

"I know it's here." Megatron said. Soundwave's scanner beeped, indicating they had found whatever Megatron was searching for in the wastes of the most inhospitable region of Earth. Scrapper quickly dug through the ice and uncovered five pods with five Decepticon warriors laying dormant within them.

"The Predacons were the greatest huntsmen on Cybertron, but I banished them from the Decepticons after a glitch in their programming turned them into animals and somehow they ended up on this planet. I now need them to hunt down and destroy Shockwave. Soundwave, get Starscream to bring these stasis pods back to the ship and inform Knockout to have the infirmary ready for his new patients." Megatron ordered. He may have been beaten, but he was now seething with an insatiable hunger for revenge not only against the Autobots but Shockwave as well, and the Predacons would be his instrument of revenge...

 **To be continued in Volume 2 of Tales of the Tansfomers!**


End file.
